Necessity Is The Mother Of Intention
by GCatsPjs
Summary: Not based on spoiler or speculation, it occurs post Season 5 finale.  We will see how our heroes deal with changes in their relationships and dynamics when other factors are added.
1. Denied

**Hi everyone! *wave*. I am back with another one... (I know, I am insane...) The following fic is not based on spoiler or speculation, but does take place after Booth and Brennan return from their respective trips... Well, you'll see... I hope you'll stay with me through it...**

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_**NECESSITY IS THE MOTHER OF INTENTION**_

The solid clacking of shoes on the tile floor could be heard as it echoed through the silent lab. Temperance Brennan turned the corner to her office and tossed her briefcase onto the couch without a second thought as she rounded the corner to her desk. She sat in the chair, rolling it over to her incoming file, opening a folder, she sat back in her chair.

She enjoyed getting to the lab about an hour before everyone else, it gave her some time to organize her day, and at the same time, gave her a little bit of solitary time around the things she loved. She flipped the page as she read through the case report, chewing her bottom lip as she read her partner's colorful language. She smiled, shook her head and closed the folder, tossing it onto the pile as she looked up to see that very man standing in her midst.

"Something amusing in that file, Bones?" He asked, walking across the floor with his arms crossed. There was a slight cocky grin on his lips, but it disappeared when he noted the stiffness in her posture, and her avoidance at looking toward him.

"No." She replied, looking up at him, her eyes were stern and cold as she watched him stand above her. "Can I help you with something?"

"We need to talk." He said softly, watching her eyes. She had an amazing ability to take whatever situation they were in and push it to the back of her mind, so that her eyes told him absolutely nothing.

"Well then you'll have to come back when I'm not working." She said, looking back at the papers on her desk, she lifted a folder and opened it, sitting back in her chair; she focused on the computer and began to type.

"Bones." He said, his voice deep and serious, she ignored him, continuing to type. "We need to talk about what happened."

"We don't have to talk about anything. What is done is done." She said, looking toward him with a cold expression. "Isn't that what you told me?"

"That was a completely different situation."

"It was the exact same situation." She said, glaring at him. "Whatever you think happened? It's in the past. I am working… if you don't have a case, then you can show yourself to the door." She said, her eyes becoming colder, her fingers tapping the keyboard just a little harder.

He stood his ground, staring at her as she glared for another moment, before moving her eyes to the screen. "I'm not leaving."

"I'll have security remove you."

"You won't do that."

"Would you like to put a wager on that, Agent Booth?" She glared again, though this time, her eyebrow raised just a bit, her lips in a straight line, no signs of joking.

"You have to talk to me about this, Bones." He said, a virtually unseen sigh escaping his lungs as his eyes begged her to listen. "Tell me that you'll talk to me about it."

"No." She said angrily. "I'm finished talking about it, Booth." She said, looking at him. "You have known me long enough to know that when I make a decision, it's a very well thought out and intelligent decision. You know that I don't make intuitive leaps, and you know that I don't take risks that I don't feel are sure things." She said as she stood up and walked toward him. "When I told you, what I told you… and you pushed it aside for your own selfish reasons. You have someone now, Booth. I have accepted that, and I am not going to stand in your way if you have an opportunity for true happiness with someone that you care about. I would be lying if I told you that I haven't felt a bit of indifference on your part regarding our relationship, but I assume that it was inevitable. However, your behavior the other night has only reinforced that I am better off the way that I've always seen myself… alone." She said as she walked toward the door.

"Bones, you don't understand." He said softly as he followed her toward the door, where she turned sharply and looked him directly in the eye.

"I do understand, Agent Booth. I understand completely… and that's why I will be requesting for Agent Cooke to become my full time partner as soon as possible." She said, keeping her eyes steady. "It is very clear that you've let your emotions get in the way of our work, and in our line of work, that can be very dangerous." She said as she turned around and walked away from him. She walked strongly and firmly through the empty lab, turning sharply without a second look as she headed toward Limbo, leaving Booth to stare after her in terrified stupor, as she disappeared from sight.

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**I know, short beginning... and we will find out how we got to this point, I assure you... and in classic fashion, I suppose I can show you what happens after.**


	2. Worth A Try

Four Months Earlier-

December 24th

Doctor Temperance Brennan was not a quitter. She was not a quitter, and she wouldn't stand for anyone saying that it was a possibility. Of course, she was alone in the lab, on Christmas Eve, poring over reports of the latest set of remains she was examining. No one was around to say she was a quitter… but the longer she sat at her desk, staring at the empty doorway in front of her, the more she felt completely the opposite.

Just a week earlier she had been in Indonesia, to her knees with dirt, paperwork, and questions. There had been excitement when the team had first gotten to the site. They had new discoveries ahead of them, and there were endless possibilities. Unfortunately, this elation only lasted for about a month, before things began to just go downhill for her. Brennan found she was feeling anxious all of the time, on edge. She knew that the opportunities of this dig were going to be career changing and exciting, but after the initial thrill of the experience, she was to the point where she didn't even care.

She found herself missing her lab, her apartment, her friends, and ultimately that is what got her onto that plane on the way home. She knew that nothing was the same at home, and that Hodgins and Angela were in Paris, that Booth was in Afghanistan, but she didn't care. She wanted to be home, at least there she knew that she was in control of her destiny, in control of her feelings, and in control of her work. Under the guise and excuse of better lab equipment, Brennan changed her base location from the dig site to the Jeffersonian. She guaranteed thorough analysis and reports on all of their findings after they were shipped to her lab, that she would be more useful. She argued that the Jeffersonian would be a better research base where she could do many of the more technologically advanced examinations with her own equipment… in her own domain. Reluctantly, the organization agreed to her request, sending with her half dozen scientists that would be of better use at the Jeffersonian, then on the ground in Indonesia. Today was Christmas Eve, however, and the lab was silent, and she was thankful for that.

The moment she had arrived four days earlier, she had come directly to the lab. She walked through the glass doors and made a quick line to her office, where she had looked around at the familiar objects and allowed herself to take a deep, cleansing breath. All of the stress from the earlier months seemed to drain away as she looked around and breathed in the scent of the lab, and saw all of the familiar things that made her smile. She sat in her chair and felt all of the tension of being away just melt into its fabric, her head tipped back as she took a slow, deep breath as she relaxed, and though she'd take the occasional trip to her apartment in the past four days, she spent the majority of her time in that exact same place.

She was closing her eyes, her chair tipped back just slightly when the light knock on her door nearly sent her toppling over. Her eyes opened wide, and she grabbed the desk, surprised to see someone in the doorway. He was a tall and thin, fairly young looking man, dressed in a suit and tie. His hair was blonde, cut short and a bit messy, only adding to the ruggedly handsome face that held two bright green eyes that looked across at her apologetically.

"I'm sorry." The man said politely, still standing right outside the door, Brennan could feel her cheeks burning with embarrassment. "I'm really sorry." He said, cringing a bit as he continued to keep his distance.

"Can I help you?" She asked, her demeanor completely changed as she willed the redness from her cheeks.

"I… I hope so." He said, taking a step into her office, he held his hand out. "I'm Special Agent Matthew Cooke…"

"FBI?" She asked, her brow furrowing in confusion, she shook it and stood. "Doctor Temperance Brennan."

"Yes." He nodded. "I am quite aware of your record, Doctor Brennan." He smiled.

"Is there something that I can do for you, Agent Cooke? I'm not currently working on any cases for the FBI, and seeing as my partner is not going to be in town for a few months, it looks like I won't be working with them anytime soon." She said, glancing to her computer screen, and back to the agent. She could see the hope that he had in his eyes start to diminish with her words, and felt a niggle of regret in the pit of her stomach. "Were you looking for me specifically?"

"Yes, Ma'am." He nodded. "I know that you just returned from Maluku, only days ago, and I wouldn't ask you for this favor if it weren't really important to me, but…"

"Please get to your point, Agent Cooke."

"I have an unidentified body of a child… really, skeletal remains… on this case that I'm working on, and… it's really weighing on my mind. I know that you have a special kind of… touch when it comes to your work, and I was wondering if you would have the opportunity to take a look. Our people didn't find anything with the evidence."

"Not to sound rude, Agent Cooke, but 'your people' amount to a couple of men in leather shoes and metal detectors most of the time. Where was the body found?"

"Theodore Roosevelt Island… a couple of tourists found it… him, on the…" He cleared his throat. "On the um, shore…" he said, his eyes showing genuine sadness at the situation.

"It's okay, Agent Cooke." She said, walking to the corner of her office, she opened a bag. "The death of a child is very difficult to endure. It shouldn't be an easy thing to deal with." She said, moving things around in the bag, she packed one or two things inside and turned around. "Is the dump site accessible by foot?" She asked, looking back at the man as he gave her a surprised glance.

"You want to go out there now?" He asked, watching her look him up and down as she eyed his leather shoes.

"You're probably going to want to get yourself a pair of gumboots." She said as she grabbed her boots from the shelf under the table, and swung her bag over her shoulder as she walked past him and smiled politely, as he turned and walked behind her out of the office.

He kind of jogged to catch up with her, her stride was long and determined, and as she stepped from the lab, he walked alongside her. "Doctor Brennan, you really don't have to do this now… I was just going to ask if you could look at the remains." He said, watching her push the button on the elevator, she glanced to him.

"If we wait, the evidence will be washed away… I would feel much better aiding in this, if I were able to get some samples from the scene for my own edification, along with some sense of where and how the body was found. I prefer my crime scenes to be untouched, but there's nothing that I can do about that now, is there?" She asked as the elevator door opened and she stepped inside. He stopped the door from closing as he watched her look up at him with a surprised look.

"Doctor Brennan, it's Christmas Eve… I didn't expect you to do it today. It's a holiday."

"Then explain to me why you came to my office on Christmas Eve… if you didn't expect to find someone here." She said, swatting at his hand on the door, she nearly pulled him into the elevator. She pushed the button for the parking garage as they made their way downstairs.

"I was hoping." He shrugged.

They fell into a bit of an awkward silence as they stood in the elevator. "Are you good with a gun, Agent Cooke?" She asked, watching his cheeks redden as he looked at her with a completely surprised expression.

"Huh?"

"Nothing." She said with a smile as she stepped out of the opening door of the elevator. "I just needed to get back at you for nearly sending me to the floor when you knocked at the door of my office." She stated as she walked briskly toward the car. "Oh…" She said as she turned around and glanced back, pressing the keyless entry for her car, it honked in the background. "I'm driving… so hurry up." She said, turning around as he grinned and followed after her, relieved that this was going to be easier than he had originally thought.


	3. Wiggle Room

Brennan would have asked to see identification, but she had immediately noticed the FBI issue folders in the agent's hand, tucked neatly under his arm. This was the inference that she had made that caused her to question his affiliation, just to make sure. It didn't matter, for she was just ready to get involved in something that she would perceive as normal. She drove toward Theodore Roosevelt Island with this virtual stranger, and had a millisecond of panic. She had no idea what she was doing here. She had no assignment, no jurisdiction, she wasn't even sure if she had her FBI visitor pass with her, but the routine had been so natural, and she was just dying to get out on a case, and this agent was giving her that opportunity.

"Agent Cooke?" She said, glancing to him as he sat comfortably, watching the road in front of them, his eyes flicked to hers. "Why did you decide to come see me on this case?"

"Because you're the best in your field." He shrugged. He noticed a veil of confusion in her eyes. "Honestly, I haven't been in D.C. for very long… in fact, this is my first case on my own, and I've been hitting dead ends the entire way. For a city full of agents of the law, nobody likes to talk, and there is absolutely no sharing of information. Everyone else was telling me to go one way, but I figured I'd take the road less traveled." He said, watching her brow furrow again. "The road less traveled… being… talking to you… how many agents come to you for help?"

"I typically only work with Agent Booth." She replied, watching the road.

"Exactly. I've read your work, Doctor Brennan. You have a true gift. You're an incredible resource and I think that your skills are very often overshadowed by bureaucratic bullshit. It's just an opinion, but I think it's a well justified opinion."

"You've read my work?" She laughed. "What I write does not qualify as scientific inquiry, Agent Cooke. I write what Booth describes as 'pulp fiction'. I don't even know what that means."

"Right… 'gorified' romance novels." He said, watching her eyes flash irritation. "Fine… fiction, all the same. I'm not talking about your books, I'm talking about your journal essays, Doctor Brennan."

"You've read my journal publications?" She asked, pulling into the parking lot of the park, he nodded his head definitively.

"Each and every one of them… the fiction I can't get into… but ancient mummified remains? I can get into that. I enjoy your passion for anthropology, you write as if you are fascinated."

"I do find it fascinating." She said, parking the car, her eyes were looking into his for a moment. "You're a very odd man, Agent Cooke."

"Why do you say that?" He asked, handing the folders to her as she reached her hand for them.

"Because there aren't many men who would admit to reading my journal publications… there aren't many agents who would admit to needing help on a case… and there aren't many people that would allow me to drive to a crime scene." She said, flipping the folder closed, she climbed from the seat, listening to the easy laugh of the agent as he opened his car door to climb out and follow her.

She walked around to the trunk of her car, opened it and grabbed the boots that she had tossed into the back before they had left. She shifted a few things around and found a spare pair of boots. "Here, these are Booth's spares… he never brings boots, and we never drive my car… so they're practically new." She said, smiling as he caught the boots and dropped them to the ground.

He started to pull the boots on, and looked up as he tied them tightly, watching as she tied her own boots tightly. "Agent Booth must have really big feet… these things are huge." Cooke said with a friendly smile.

"Have you ever met Agent Booth?" She asked, watching the other agent shake his head.

"No, is he a large man?"

"He is very well built, quite tall, but not too tall, and he..." She stopped herself, unsure of where she was going with her description, she gave Agent Cooke a knowing smile. "For his stature, I think that Agent Booth's feet appear to be of proper form, though I do believe that he prefers to have what he calls 'wiggle' room. I believe to provide added comfort to his feet, since they are very sensitive." She replied, stopping herself before she ventured too far into her partner's past, the other agent tied the boots as tightly as he could, and tucked his suit pants into them carefully. "They appear to be a fairly reasonable fit for you." She said, stomping her foot down onto the crisp ground, she shivered just a bit from the cold, winter weather and glanced to the agent. "You can lead the way." She said, holding the folders in her hands as she nodded toward the bridge to take them onto the island.

"You're sure you don't mind doing this today, Doctor Brennan. I'm sure there's someplace you'd rather be tonight."

"I haven't actually told anyone that I am back from Maluku, Agent Cooke. The only person that has been around the lab since I have returned has been the security guards… in fact, I'm not even sure how you knew that I'd be at the office." She replied, pausing for a moment as the agent stopped and looked back at her.

"Honestly?" He said, shrugging his shoulders, he gave her a half grin. "I've been following your work in Maluku, and on the website, they posted the news that you were coming back to D.C. I just ventured a guess that you'd be in your office today."

"So, in a sense, you've been stalking me?" She asked, watching the agent stop and give her an amused glance.

"Not you, Doctor Brennan." He let out a laugh. "Your work… though, a person with your high standings in the field, I am quite surprised that you were willing to come out here with me today."

"Because it's a holiday?" She replied, trudging along behind him, her bag settled comfortably on her shoulder as he pushed open the gate to the restricted area.

"No, because you've got better things to do with your time than help a green agent who is fawning over your work."

"First of all, Agent Cooke." She said as she caught up with him, glancing to her side. "I didn't come here for you, I came for the victim… and second of all…" She paused and shook her head. "Nevermind." She replied, giving him a slight smile as she walked along side him, he allowed her to fall into a self imposed silence as they walked toward the crime scene together.

As they approached where the remains had been found, Brennan walked with her nose buried in the file, her feet catching on a branch, she felt an arm grab hers to keep her from falling. "Thank you." She muttered gratefully as she continued looking at the file, his arm immediately releasing hers as she steadied her walk. "It appears the remains were quite severely damaged due to its time in the water…"

"I think… if you look at this picture…" He said, stopping them both, he flipped through the photos in the file and pulled one out. "This one shows deep gouges on the mandible, the scapula… almost like the person was trying to…" He looked up at Brennan, who was looking at him curiously. "What? I know my anatomy and physiology, Doctor Brennan. Being a cop isn't the only thing I'm good at."

"You haven't exactly proven that part to be true, Agent Cooke. Let's not get ahead of ourselves." She said, looking closer at the photo that he had pulled out. "But you are correct about the gouges… the pattern appears to be… a small hatchet or axe of some kind… like they were trying to get rid of the evidence by chopping it up, but couldn't get the force behind the tool to do the damage."

"So you think that it was another child, or small adult that…"

"No conjecture, Agent Cooke." She said, closing the folder, she steamrolled ahead toward the crime scene. "I need you to call the FBI lab immediately have the remains sent to the Jeffersonian. I brought a kit, but I will need all evidence that was collected at the original investigation. My entomologist is out of town… so we'll have to work with some of the interns at the lab to determine time of death based on other factors." She rambled off orders as Cooke wrote as quickly as he could in the small notebook from his pocket. He led her toward the crime scene as she spoke, and they stopped at the shore line, where the crime scene tape still hung haphazardly on the trees, shaking in the frigid wind as she knelt to the ground carefully and began her investigation.

"I'll make the phone calls." He said, watching as she barely recognized his presence, he turned and smiled as he dialed a number and walked a few yards away from the scene.

Brennan watched the agent walk several yards away, and though the cold was biting through her clothes, she felt refreshed to be out of the lab and in the field again. There was a bit of anxiety in her belly, and she couldn't quite put her finger on why, but she was fairly sure that it had something to do with those boots, and who she wished were in them right now.

He seemed fairly intelligent, engaging in conversation that was related to not only the case, but topics that she enjoyed. He was very good looking, his features symmetrical, his eyes a bright green that seemed to sparkle when she addressed him. She smiled to herself as she thought of that starry look in his eyes when she had been giving him directions. She shook her head, gathering dirt and other particles as she used her keen eye to determine if the forensics team had left anything behind.

She had noticed a wedding ring on his left hand, an indication of marital commitment, though she was slightly confused as to why he would be willing to drag someone out to a crime scene on Christmas Eve when he had someone at home waiting for him. She looked up at him, his stance was strong, his spine straight as he bow his head and listened in the phone, his voice raising a bit as he spoke, she smiled when he laughed on the phone, and she assumed that he had made a personal call. She heard the faint sound of the words 'I love you too' in the distance, and she felt her heart sink a little. She wasn't sure why the feeling had occurred, so she pushed it to the back of her mind as she sighed and continued her work, watching as he trudged over with those boots that were obviously too large for him to fill. She looked up as he approached, and he shivered a bit in the cold, his cheeks beginning to turn pink from the wind. "You don't have to stay here with me, Agent Cooke. I can take you back to your car and come back later if you have other plans."

"No, no…" He said, shaking his head. "No, it's fine… I came looking for you, this case is something that has been on my mind for days…"

"But if you have family engagements, or other holiday plans, I can handle this."

"It's alright, Doctor Brennan…" He assured. "I have plans later tonight… but right now, I'm focused on the case." He replied, definitively. He watched her shake her head and go back to work.

After almost two hours at the scene, Brennan was finished with her sweep of the crime scene. She stood up straight, cracking her back as she yawned, her eyes meeting with his as he stood against a tree. "You really didn't have to stay, Agent Cooke."

"My case…" He shrugged, nodding toward the exit of the woods, he smiled. "All set?"

"Yes." She nodded, walking toward him, she pulled her bag securely onto her shoulder and walked past him, her eyes catching his for a moment as she noticed a look of amusement. "What?"

"Nothing." He shrugged. "I enjoyed watching you work."

"I don't know what that means." She replied as she walked ahead of him, noting that he kept his distance several feet behind her.

Ignoring the awkward conversation, he kept in step behind her. "The remains will be arriving at the Jeffersonian this evening. I asked that the transfer happen as soon as possible."

"I appreciate that." She said, her feet crunching in the snow, though she kept her eyes forward.

"All evidence will be delivered at that time, and the FBI has offered up a couple of their techs just in case you need anything."

"I shouldn't need anything, but I appreciate the gesture." She said as she walked toward the car, a bit of silence falling between them.

She drove them toward the Jeffersonian, the silence was comfortable and understood, though for some reason, Brennan couldn't understand how she could be so comfortable with someone she barely knew. She shrugged it off and sighed as she pulled into the parking garage. She climbed from the car, and Agent Cooke did the same and she gathered her bag and the folders in her hands as she exited the car.

"You're not going to take off for home?" He asked, watching her shake her head as she adjusted her bag.

"I want to read over the files… wait for the remains, and get started at once. I'm hoping I'll be able to get through this before the holidays are complete."

"You mean through the evidence?" He asked curiously as she smiled.

"No, Agent Cooke… through the case."

"You think you'll have it solved before the holidays are over?"

"I'll have identification… I can almost assure that. I'll have more than you have now." She said as he nodded his head in agreement. He held his hand out to her, and she looked at it curiously.

"It's a pleasure to work with you, Doctor Brennan."

"It's been a pleasure working with you, Agent Cooke." She said with a friendly smile, as she shook his hand solidly.

"If you need me for anything… here's my card." He said, pulling a card from his pocket, he handed it over to her, and she took a glance at it.

"I'll do that." She said with a nod.

"Thanks for your time, Doctor Brennan."

"It's no problem… and you can call me Temperance… to keep from calling me 'ma'am' again, perhaps." She asked, listening to his easy laugh.

"That offended you?" He asked with a laugh.

"No… no." She said, shaking her head. "It's fine." She smiled. "Just don't let it happen again. Have a good night, Agent Cooke… And a very nice Christmas."

"Call me Matthew." He said, taking a step back. "And you have a nice Christmas too, Bren." He smiled, watching a bit of a surprise in her eye at the nickname. "Goodnight." He said, giving her another wave, before turning and walking through the garage toward his own car.

She stood for a minute, watching as he disappeared around a corner, a sigh on her chest as she turned toward the elevator. She put her key into the elevator to the lab, and rode it upstairs in silence, her thoughts rambling on faster than she was willing to keep up with.

She made her way to the lab, walking through the silent lab, her shoes clacking across the tile floor as she walked to her office. She placed her bag on the ground beside the couch, and moved to her desk where she sat for a moment, the warmth of the familiar place filling that bit inside of her that she always missed when she left.

She stared at her phone for a moment, pulling the post it note from the blinking light that had been taunting her since she had returned four days earlier. She had seen it as soon as she had walked into the office that day, but had no interest in catching up with what she knew were hundreds of phone calls from people that wanted something from her. She sighed as she closed her eyes, the phone ringing made her cringe, and though she knew that she shouldn't do it, she couldn't help but reach for the receiver just by pure habit. "Brennan." She said into the line, her eyes closed as she spoke her name in a calm, even tone, though it was the voice on the other side of the line that nearly sent her chair flying back, for the second time that day.

"Bones? What are you doing there?"


	4. Avoidance

**(From now on, I will place past in italics, and present will have no font changes)**

**Present Time-**

Brennan stepped into Limbo and heaved a heavy sigh. She stood alone in the large room filled from floor to ceiling with remains. Stacks upon stacks of bones lie in wait before her, and the longer she stared at them, the more she realized her own situation. Each one of those boxes belonged to someone, someone who looked for them, someone who lost them, forgot them. Each person in that room was loved, cared for, raised, and died, and even they were not alone. They held the company of thousands just like themselves, all stacked neatly along the walls of the bone storage room.

Her eyes flicked across each and every box, an identification number and date neatly written on the card on the front of each box. She stopped when she heard a pair of heavy shoes touching the floor to her left, and her fingertip lingered on the box in front of her.

"I told you to leave," she said, her voice having lost all fight.

"I'm not leaving until we have it out."

"I don't know what that means," she said, turning to face Booth, their eyes met and she just shook her head.

"Have it out, Bones… have it out… you need to stop hiding from me."

"I 'had it out' with you at the hospital yesterday, Booth. I've had enough," She replied sharply.

"Where were you last night when I came to look for you?"

"I wasn't at home."

"I know, Bones," He said, taking a step forward, she crossed her arms defensively. "Where were you?"

"Why does it matter where I was?"

"Stop avoiding the goddamned questions!" He exclaimed angrily.

"Don't you dare raise your voice at me." She growled.

Booth shook his head and took a step toward her. "Then answer my questions."

"No."

"See, this is exactly why we don't get anywhere, Bones!"

"We don't get anywhere, because when I do tell you how I feel, you tell me that our moment has passed! You tell me that you're finished fighting with me! You tell me that you finally found someone who isn't afraid to let you love them, and then when I pretty much tell you that I love you, you push me away!"

"See, Bones? See that? You 'pretty much' told me… You 'pretty much' told me…. What the hell does that even mean?"

"It means I love you, you idiot! It means I love you and I'm too afraid to come out and say it to your stupid face!" She shouted at him as she moved to walk past him, shoving her shoulder into him as she attempted to pass, but his arms wrapped around her from behind. "Let go of me or I will make you regret it!"

"I have a feeling I'll regret it more if I let you go." He said, feeling her struggling cease as she breathed heavily in his arms, her jaw clenched and her eyes closed tightly. "Now are we going to go into your office and have a real life adult conversation, or are we going to have to break out the handcuffs?"

**

* * *

**

_**December 24th**_

_"Booth?" her voice caught in her throat._

_"Bones, is that really you?" Booth asked, his voice sharp and clear, though there was a bit of a crackle on the line. "Bones?"_

_"Why… are you calling my phone?" she asked, her voice showing the clear confusion._

_"Why are you answering your phone? I thought you were in Mapoopoo… Makalooloo…"_

_"Maluku," She said, swallowing hard._

_"Yeah, I thought you were there," he said softly._

_"No."_

_"Obviously, because you answered your phone," he replied. "How long have you been home?"_

_"Only… only a couple of days."_

_"You're home for Christmas?"_

_"No."_

_"You're home for good?"_

_"Yes."_

_"Bones, are you alright? Did something happen?"_

_"No," She whispered. "No, nothing happened."_

_"Did you get hurt? Are you hurt?"_

_"No, Booth. I'm not hurt."_

_"Then why are you home?"_

_There was a long pause between the two of them, and she found that her hands were much more interesting than answering the question. "Why do you call my phone if you know I'm not here?" she asked, staring at the number key on the phone._

_"I was going to leave you another message."_

_"Another message?"_

_This time, it was his turn to pause. She waited patiently, and no reply. "Are you ever going to tell me why you're home?"_

_"Not until you tell me why you're calling me, when you expected to get my machine."_

_"Listen to your machine, Bones. I'll call again tomorrow."_

_"Booth."_

_"By then, you should have figured out why you came home early." He replied._

_"Booth."_

_"I'll call tomorrow, noon, Bones… don't miss it."_

_"Booth, don't…" She said, but it was too late, he had hung up. She sat for a moment with the receiver at her ear, unsure of whether to hang it up or just sit listening to the wretched dial tone that was ringing in her ear. It was tormenting her, torturing her, taunting her for not being forthright, for not being honest, and with a solid swing, she slammed it down on the receiver, as she folded her arms on the desk. She rested her head in them for just a moment as she tried to gather her thoughts._


	5. Now Or Never

_December 24th_

_Brennan sat and stared at her phone for the longest time, the echo of his voice was almost too much for her to fathom, that for just a split second, she almost convinced herself that it had never actually occurred. The blinking light of her voicemail was taunting her, and with each blink, she could fee her chest tightening._

_She closed her eyes against the emotions, pushing them back as hard as she could, she was finding it more and more difficult to do so, especially when it came to her partner. She was tempted to press the button, tempted to listen to his words, these 'other' messages that he had told her were waiting for her. Her finger hovered over the button, her eyes on the doorway to ensure she was alone, but when all was said and done, the button was never pushed, for as soon as it grazed the silver button on her phone, she heard the doors to the lab opening._

_Beyond thankful for the distraction, she moved quickly toward her office door, and directly for the incoming agents that were bringing the remains that Agent Cooke had requested be brought to her immediately._

* * *

He held her for another moment, before she was able to pull from his embrace, whirling around like a twister, her face was showing the intense anger that she was trying so very hard to hold at bay. "What do you want from me?"

"I want you to talk to me." He said, nodding toward the door. "In your office, preferably."

"Why? So there are witnesses? Cam will be here soon… and the other lab techs, do you want everyone in the Jeffersonian to hear our argument?"

"No." He said, crossing his arms over his chest. "But there is something that I need for you to hear."

"What?"

"Not in here, Temperance," he stated. His voice was icy and stern, and she felt a chill work its way up her spine at the intensity of his stare. She couldn't remember ever seeing this look in his eyes, and she had no idea what it meant.

"What is so very important about my office, Booth? We can… 'have it out' right here. There are no cameras, no ears. Say what you want to say… right here."

"Because what I want to show you, is in your office." Her arms crossed over her chest, and the anger in her eyes began to clear just a bit, and though the scowl remained, Booth hoped that he was getting through to her. "If you love me… like you say you do… you'll do it for me."

"That's really low, Booth… even for you."

"Maybe… but I've got no choice, Bones… it's now or never."

* * *

_Brennan spent the rest of Christmas Eve night looking over the remains. She rarely ever watched the clock, and this time was no exception. Before she knew it, the sun was rising, and she was still awake, her eyes set firmly on the small set of remains before her._

_Her eyes were red-rimmed and bloodshot, and she could feel her eyelids trying to close on their own as she stared at the computer screen going through different possible weapons. She lifted herself from the chair, walked into her office and headed toward the couch, her eyes on the phone, the light blinking endlessly as she sat on the couch. She resisted the urge to get up, her body telling her that it was time to lay down and go to sleep, she gave the phone one more longing stare before she reclined on the couch and pulled the blanket from the back of it over her body, succumbing to sleep._

* * *

Her body straightened, her eyes on his as he narrowed them. He was challenging her, and she knew it. She wanted to resist, tried to resist, but she knew that it was futile. She knew that she would follow him into her office, and look at, or hear whatever it was he wanted to say or show her. She knew she was going to give in, and not because she was weak, but because she loved him and would do anything for him, even when she was two steps away from severing their partnership for good.

Without a word, he walked past her, out of the bone storage room and into the lab. She turned to see the door close behind him, and like a lost puppy, she followed him. She followed him out the door, into the lab, and across the floor to her office. He stepped inside, and to the side, allowing her to pass, and as soon as she was inside, the closed the door behind them.

"Booth, I…"

"Did you listen to the messages, Bones?"

"Booth, I was…"

"Did you listen to them, Bones? Answer me." He said, his voice was calm, but the intensity was still in his eyes. "Answer me."

"I…"

* * *

_She almost literally jumped off the couch when the phone rang, amidst a rather involved dream, mixed with the quiet of the lab, she was asleep for much longer than she had expected. The phone was ringing, and when she looked at her clock, she noted the time was almost eleven thirty. She cursed herself internally for allowing her nap to turn into more, and grabbed the telephone without even thinking._

_"Brennan." She breathed into the line, a bit of panic laced in her voice._

_"Well, Merry Christmas." Cooke's voice slipped easily over the line._

_"What do you want?" She asked, her voice was still full of sleep, a bit of confusion, and a slight tinge of annoyance. "I… I mean, what… why are you calling me?" She mumbled, smoothing her hair back, she landed in her desk chair hard._

_"Have you been there all night with the remains?"_

_"What do you want, Agent Cooke? I haven't found anything definitive yet. I still have to do the reconstruction, and…"_

_"I was just calling to check in." He said politely. "I wanted to thank you again for your time."_

_"Yeah… yeah, it was no problem." She said softly. "I will call you when I find anything."_

_"Thanks, Bren. I appreciate the help."_

_"It's no problem. Have a nice Christmas."_

_"You too… get out of the lab, make the most of the day." He said with a friendly smile she could hear over the line._

_"Goodbye, Matthew."_

_"Bye." He said, and his voice was gone._

_She was once again alone, staring at the incessant blinking light on her machine. She had been staring at it for so long, that she had memorized the pattern in her mind, and when she closed her eyes, she still saw that blinking light as she tried to imagine what he could have possibly could have been calling her about._

_Her thoughts had gotten the best of her, and before she knew it, the phone was ringing again. Her eyes flicked to the clock, it was twelve noon, exactly. Her hand touched the receiver, and yet her eyes were on the blinking light, something stopped her from pulling it up, something stopped her from answering._

_Her heart was beating hard, and she knew that the machine would pick up after the fourth ring, her breath caught at the third ring, and her grip tightened on the receiver as she struggled in her mind with what to do._


	6. If I Close My Eyes, It Never Happened

_Just as the fourth ring ended, just as the machine picked up, she lifted the receiver. "Brennan."_

_"You knew it was me, Bones… you could have just said hello." His voice was humored and familiar, and all of the pent up anxiety that she felt about picking up the phone melted away, and with that, a new anxiety began. This anxiety was built upon the fact that he could disarm her with a simple word._

_"Hey." She said, trying to hide the tender smile that graced her lips, there was no denying it._

_"Did you listen to the messages?"_

_"I…Booth, I…"_

_"It's okay if you didn't get a chance. I could give you a quick rundown if you want." He said, his voice still sounding happy over the line, he could tell she was struggling for words._

_"Okay."_

_"Well… you know, everyone around here on the base… they have loved ones to call when it's their turn at the phone."_

_"Yes."_

_"Sometimes I call Parker… and sometimes I call you." He said, his phrasing succinct and clear, she listened for him to say more, but there was nothing._

_"But you called my office phone…you knew that I wouldn't get the messages."_

_"I know."_

_"Then why did you leave them, Booth? You're not making any sense."_

_"Why did you come home, Bones?" He asked, avoiding her question entirely, and it didn't get past her for a second. "Why didn't you stay in Maluku?" He asked, and the fact that he called the island by its correct name didn't get by her either. He was concerned, and she could hear it in his voice._

_"I felt that the lab at the Jeffersonian would be of use to the team, so I suggested that the remains and artifacts be shipped here for deeper analysis." She replied, her voice clinical and calculated._

_"I thought you had all of the tools and technologies that you needed right there."_

_"The lab at the Jeffersonian has more up to date equipment… equipment that isn't available there, so I thought it would be beneficial to the team if I were to return to the lab and do a thorough analysis here." She replied, waiting for him to say something, anything, because the silence was killing her. "Are you okay, Booth?" She asked in a soft voice._

_"I miss you," He said, his words coming out so quickly, she almost asked him to repeat it. "I wanted to wish you a Merry Christmas, Bones." He said, when she said nothing._

_"Merry Christmas, Booth," she whispered. "I have a question."_

_"Shoot," He replied, waiting patiently for the question._

_"An agent came here this morning and asked for help on a case, and I…"_

_"FBI?" Booth interrupted._

_"Yes. Agent Matthew Cooke. He says he's new to D.C., he said he's never met you."_

_"I've never heard of him, did he show you credentials?" he asked, his voice sounding very agitated._

_"No, Booth, he had the official files associated with the case. I have his card, and he is a very nice man."_

_"Very nice man… give me his phone number from the card." _

_"Booth, you're not going to call him."_

_"I just want to check him out… see if he's legit… he can't just barge into the lab and demand that you help him on a case, Bones."_

_"Booth, stop overreacting. He didn't barge in, he asked politely."_

_"The number, Bones."_

_"Booth, stop."_

_"I'm just going to have Charlie check him out for me… it'll make me feel better."_

_"Make you feel better about what? He seems very polite, very kind. We have a lot in common, and he's read a few of my journal submissions. I feel confident that he's a viable temporary replacement for you, until you return." There was a long pause on the line, and Brennan could hear a tender sigh come from her partner. "I don't mean replacement, Booth. You know that you're the only person I want to work with."_

_"Then why did you take this guy's case?"_

_"It's a child, Booth." She said, hearing a silent 'oh' on the line. "He is having problems fitting in with the other agents. No one wants to share information with him. He was aware of our work together, and decided to ask for help. I am sure he would have done the same if you were here."_

_"It would have gotten reassigned to us… instead, the bureau has green agents honing in on my partner."_

_"I don't know what that means, Booth," she replied._

_"I just want you to be careful, Bones."_

_"I can take care of myself, Booth."_

_There was a pause for a moment, and she heard a soft sigh. "I know you can, Bones. Just don't make me worry about you, okay?"_

_"I won't do anything dangerous, Booth. I promise."_

_"Remember to eat?" He said, and at those words she instantly heard her stomach growling, begging for nourishment. _

_"I'll remember to eat." She rolled her eyes._

_"Don't roll your eyes at me, Bones. I may be thousands of miles away, but I know you."_

_"Be careful out there, Booth. I'm going to need my partner back in one piece." She said softly._

_"I thought you found a replacement."_

_"I'm hanging up now."_

_"Have a good Christmas, Bones."_

_"You too, Booth."_

_"I'll call again in a few days, if you want to hear from me."_

_"I'll answer if I'm here, or call my cell… you remember the number, right?" she teased._

_"Funny one, Bones." _

_"Bye, Booth."_

_"Later, Bones." He said, the sound of the click sounding like a hammer slamming into her brain as the line went dead._

_"I miss you too." She whispered at the dial tone, as she put the phone on its cradle and sighed, wiping the stray tear from her cheek, she stood and took a deep breath and turned, heading directly for the platform to further her analysis of the remains._

* * *

"Did you listen to them, Bones? Answer me." He said, his voice was calm, but the intensity was still in his eyes. "Answer me."

"I…"

He cleared his throat and shook his head slightly. "I want you to listen to them now."

"Booth, it's been months…"

"It has been months, Bones," he replied, his voice sounding so sarcastic, that she nearly cringed. "It has been months, and still you pretend that they don't exist."

"I deleted them."

"You lie," he growled, his eyes narrowing at her.

"It's not enough that you reject me and make me feel inferior, but now you're going to call me a liar on top of it all? You have a lot of nerve…"

"Quit yapping, and open the file, Brennan. I know that your machine has a digital program that saves each message into your e-mail. You've showed it to me. You're a digital packrat… so stop making excuses and open the file already." He demanded as he stepped toward her computer, suddenly blocked by Brennan, who put her hand on the mouse.

"I'll see if I have them." She said, looking at him for a moment as he raised his eyebrows in challenge. She sighed heavily and clicked a few times, hearing him sigh again. "Fine… here… I have all of them here."

"Play the first one." He said, watching as her eyes lifted to meet his. "Bones, I am serious. If you don't play the first one, I'll walk out of here and never come back… just like you told me to earlier. Is that what you want? Do you want me to walk away now?"

"No."

"Then play the first goddamned message." He said, his voice low and even as he leaned on her desk, their eyes meeting as he waited for her to press the button.


	7. Complicated

She looked into his eyes and watched the challenge within them, making her feel just slightly uncomfortable as the intensity cut through her. Suddenly, he reached out and grabbed the mouse, pulling the monitor in his direction so that he could see it, she reached for the mouse but he held it out of her reach. "No." He said, reaching for the speaker, he turned the volume on and clicked the button on the file.

For several moments all there was over the speaker was a crackling silence. Then his voice, apprehensive and soft echoed over the line as he stared at her across the desk, his eyes slightly red rimmed from the tears he was trying to hold back. He needed her to hear the messages.

'Hey Bones…' His voice was so very soft, she could hardly hear it, she swallowed hard as the message continued, those dark brown eyes burning into hers. 'I know you're not going to get this until you get home… until we're both home… so in your giant logical brain, it probably seems like this is a waste of time for me, or a waste of a phone call?' They could literally hear the hard swallow on the line. 'I don't think it's a waste though… They said we could call our loved ones, so I called Parker… and had some extra time left, and for some reason the only person that I could think to call was you. What… what I'm trying to say, Bones… Temperance.' Booth could see the tears in her eyes as they trailed down her cheeks, and he so wanted to stop the recording and pull her into his arms, but he knew that she needed to hear this. She needed to feel what he felt, to face the fears that were causing her to push him away. 'I… what… I love you, Temperance.' His voice cracked over the line. 'I love you, and I know it's not brain chemistry, it's not a brain tumor, it's not… euphoria… it's the truth. It's the truth, and I know you well enough, to know that it's all you ever want out of everyone, the truth. I love you.'

"Booth…" She whimpered, tears rolling down her cheeks as she watched his eyes soften just slightly. The recording continued, and he just stared into her blue eyes as if he was lost in a maze and had no desire to find his way out.

'I hope you don't mind if I call your machine now and again… sometimes to talk, sometimes just to hear your voice on the message… I miss you, Bones. It's only been a damn week, and I miss you so damn much.' The man on the tape took a deep breath, trying to control the emotions that were bubbling over. 'I'll call back soon… I hope you're being safe.' He whispered, and the recording stopped.

Brennan's eyes were directly on his, and she wasn't about to be the first to look away. He held her gaze second for second, even as someone knocked on the door. "That's probably Cam, checking on Cooke's condition." Brennan sniffed.

"She can wait." He replied evenly. "Bones…"

"This is exactly why I didn't want to listen to those messages." She said, holding his gaze, she shook her head. "This…" She said, rubbing her cheek, the tear away. "This is exactly why…"

"Because then you'd have to actually have some kind of human emotion?" He asked, the sarcasm dripping from each syllable, he watched another tear trail down her cheek. He wanted to feel sympathy, he wanted to feel bad for making her upset, but he needed her to understand exactly what he was feeling.

"No." She whimpered. "No… Booth," she shook her head. "I just… you left those messages when you were emotional, when you were alone. Those messages were… were a product of your loneliness, and…"

"No." He said, pointing at the screen. "That is not a product of my loneliness, Bones. That is a product of spending nearly every single day with you for the five years of our partnership! That is a product of my soul, Bones… it is not because I didn't know what I had until I didn't have it any longer!" He exclaimed sternly. "It's because I knew what I had, and I didn't want to let it go!"

"Then why did you leave it in a message?"

"I didn't leave it in a message, Bones… I left it in every single one of those messages that you didn't listen to! If you had the nerve to open just one of those messages, you would have heard it… every single one of them!" He exclaimed.

"Booth!"

"No." He shook his head. "No, Bones… It's clear that you still don't understand." He said, taking a step backwards.

"Booth, please…"

"We're done here, okay? I thought I could do this, but apparently I can't." He shook his head. "You have your life, I have mine, we're apparently going in opposite directions, and…"

"If you left those messages, Booth… saying… saying that you love me… why did you meet someone out there? Where does Sarah come into all of this?" She whispered.

"That's what I want to know, Bones… all of the things that you told me the other day… this declaration of love when we were in the bone storage room. Where does Cooke come into all of this?" He asked, approaching her quickly, he stopped about three feet from her, crossing his arms over his chest, his eyes were nearly accusing as hers were hurt.

"Booth, it's complicated."

"It's complicated… It's complicated… I get it." He nodded. "I get it." He said waving his hand in irritation, he turned for the door and instantly felt her hand on his shoulder.

"No, you don't get it." She said, feeling him stop beneath her touch. "I'm not in love with Matthew Cooke, Booth." She said. She waited, and after a moment, he turned to face her.

"Then what is all of this about? Since I've been home you've had nothing to do with me, Bones. I barely see you on the weekends, we've finished two cases and you won't go have drinks with me. The last time I saw you alone was when you barged into my apartment hysterical and not making any sense. You tell me what the hell is going on. If it isn't Cooke… then what is it?"

"It is Cooke." She whispered. "But not the one you think it is."

"I don't understand."

"Spencer Cooke, Booth. I'm in love with Spencer Cooke." She shrugged.


	8. I Showed You Mine

Booth took a step back, his jaw hung open slightly, and he looked for a moment as if all of the wind had been knocked out of his lungs.

"Booth." She said, a shadow of a smile on her lips that he just couldn't quite understand. "You're right, okay? We do need to talk."

That tiny bit of a smile on her lips was almost enough to send him into a rage. Did she think this was humorous? Of course she didn't, this was Bones, she never thought anything was humorous, she never actually 'got' anything. So why did she looked so absolutely amused by this situation.

"I tell you to listen to those messages. I tell you that I love you, that I've been… in love with you, and you respond by telling me that you're in love with another man?" He asked, trying desperately to keep his voice low and even, though she could see the hurt in his eyes, the pain.

"No." She replied. Her answer was short, simple, and made absolutely no sense to him.

"You said…"

"I said we need to talk, Booth. Will you sit down and talk to me? If you love me, Booth. If you love me like you say you do, you'll sit down and talk with me."

"Bones."

"You want to have it out, Booth… I'm telling you that I will tell you everything, it's now or never."

"Are you going to declare your love for someone else now?" He asked, the sarcasm slipping between his lips so naturally, that it almost sounded like a serious question. However, she chose to ignore it, and took a step back toward her desk.

"Please have a seat." She said, stopping before she walked to her seat, she glanced at the computer screen, and then turned her attention toward him. He was still standing across the room for her, his tongue darting out across his lips as she watched him heave a soft sigh of resignation. Her head tipped slightly, and it was as if that were the final straw, the one thing that brought him over the edge. Those big blue eyes were staring at him so longingly, that there was absolutely no way that he could resist her request. "I want to tell you everything."

"You have the face of an angel, you know that, right? So innocent and pure, but underneath it all…"

"Under it all, I'm just human. I make mistakes."

"Temperance Brennan rarely makes a mistake." He said, taking a step forward, he kept his eyes focused on hers.

"Though that fact is fairly accurate… and contrary to the belief of some people, and what her behavior would suggest, Agent Booth. She is only human."

He stepped to the couch, his eyes still on hers as he stood in front of it for a moment, before sitting on one side. "Sit." He said, running his large hand over the cushion beside him. "Sit here and talk to me."

She didn't have to think about it, or wonder if he sincerely wanted her to sit beside her, because just as she was rarely wrong, Booth was rarely insincere. So she moved to the couch and turned slightly toward him as she sat, their eyes joined together in an emotional battle, with the stakes so high, that neither wanted to say the first words.

"Would it be unfair of me to say that I don't think that you were very nice to Agent Cooke when you first came home?" She asked, clearing her throat a bit as his eyes widened, his jaw dropping just a fraction of an inch as those brown eyes narrowed.

* * *

_Brennan stood leaned against her desk, scanning through a folder thoughtfully, a hint of a smile on her face as she thumbed through its contents. She looked up at the man sitting on the couch across from her and was just about to speak when her eyes caught sight of the person walking into her office._

_"Bren you're not going to believe what I found out when I interviewed that guy in the landfill dump murder." The young, quick talking agent spoke with such energy that Brennan was slightly caught off guard, her eyes flashed to the man sitting on the couch, his legs crossed, holding an amused smile on his face. "Hey, are you listening?" He said, his head snapped to where she was looking, and his eyes locked with the eyes of the man sitting on the couch. "Uh… hi."_

_"Special Agent Matthew Cooke, I'd like you to meet my partner. Special Agent Seeley Booth." Her eyes sparkled when she said his name, and Cooke could see the pride in her eyes._

_"Agent Booth." Cooke said, an easy smile on his lips as his eyes flicked to Brennan. He held out his hand to Booth, who stood up. He stuck his hand out to the younger man, his chest puffed out with pride and a bit of egotism._

_"Agent Cooke. I've heard a lot about you."_

_"I've heard a lot about you too, Agent Booth… Bren is an amazing partner, I mean… an incredible person to work with." He said, cringing a bit, and Brennan realized that Booth was crushing the younger man's hand._

_"Booth?" Brennan said quickly, who looked toward her, and she nodded at their hands._

_"Oh." He smiled sarcastically. "Sorry about that, don't know my own strength." He said with a smile._

_"Booth just arrived from his flight from Afghanistan… we were going to go get a bite to eat at the diner, would you like to join us?" Brennan said, not catching the irritated glare from Booth._

_"Yeah… join us… let's make this a party." Booth snapped as he realized that Brennan was oblivious to his disappointment at having to share her company._

* * *

"And how was that not nice to him?"

"You nearly crushed his hand, Booth." Temperance replied, watching him roll his eyes.

"If the man can't give a firm handshake, then he shouldn't be sticking his hand out to people that he doesn't know. Especially to someone he's obviously looking to screw over." Booth snarled.

"He's not looking to screw anyone over, Booth. He was looking for a friend, he's my friend. He's a really good friend."

"Right, and you have so many of those." Booth replied, the snap was enough to send wrinkles to her forehead at the harshness of his tone, and she whimpered a bit when her stomach clenched. He could see that she wanted to stand up and step away, but he also knew that she deserved his harshness, as difficult as it was for him to give it to her. Her bottom lip slipped into her mouth, whether it was from pain of his words, or to keep herself from saying something, he wasn't sure, because her eyes were still on his, and still held the same pain as before. "Sorry." He whispered.

"You're right." She swallowed, straightening a bit in her spot, her fingers moved on her leg, and she felt the need to touch him, feel that connection instead of just know it was there, but she held back for a moment, her eyes now on her fingertips as they did a daunting dance on her leg to keep from reaching out to him.

"And that trip to the diner, Bones. What was that all about?" He asked sincerely. "You took the French fries right off the man's plate without so much as a question."

"I never ask you for yours." She said, watching as his eyes narrowed.

"I thought it was our thing."

She watched him for a moment, the realization was slow and painful, but her mouth dropped just a bit, and she scrunched her brows. "You always felt that the fact that I steal your fries… was a form of foreplay?" She asked.

"Bones." He whispered, closing his eyes, he could feel his face burning.

"I assure you, Booth. I have never had any intention to sleep with Matthew Cooke. He's a very good friend, just like you and I are… well, were." She tilted her head, and there was that look again. She had absolutely no idea what that little head tilt did to him, and he had to hold back so much to not show her. "My relationship with Matthew is professional, and the little personal time we have together is always spent talking."

"What do you talk about?" He whispered.

Her mouth opened as she made a sound, her words seemingly stuck in the back of her throat. "I really… don't think you need to know what he and I talk about," she saw a spark of anger, and knew she'd have to change what she had just said. "I mean… I… we talked about you." She swallowed. "I talked, a lot about you."

"You talked about me." He nodded his head, the anger in his eyes had not lessened at her words, the flames just seemed to climb higher, and she was unsure of why. "You talked about me with an absolute stranger."

"No… well, yes… not… not about you in the sense of where you came from, or your past, or anything about why you are who you are, Booth. I understand those things that we talk about are private, personal things… I understand that," she whispered. "We talked… more about things regarding you, that I can't… talk to you about."

"How you feel about me?"

"Yes," she admitted openly.

"You talked to another man about how you feel about me?"

"Yes."

"And how do you feel about me, Bones?"

"I love you." She said simply, her shoulder shrugging as she held his eyes with her own.

"You love me?" He asked, the words sounding more like an accusation than a question.

"Yes."

"But you're in love with this Spencer guy too?" he asked, watching that almost amused smile appear on her face.

"Does it matter?" she asked. "Does it matter what either of us have spoken here? You have Sarah, Booth."

"I don't have anyone, Bones."

"You said…"

"I'll explain it all to you… just not right now."

"Is there a Sarah, Booth?"

"Is there a Spencer?"

Brennan stood, her eyes still on Booth as she walked around her desk. She looked down for just a moment as she lifted the receiver of the phone and dialed a number. Her eyes met with Booth, and his brow furrowed as she waited for a moment, and kept her eyes on his. "Yes, this is Doctor Brennan… may I speak with Spencer please?" She asked, keeping her eyes focused on Booth's. She pushed the button on the phone and there was the sound of air hitting the receiver on the other side as they waited. There was a crackle, and a light fumble with the phone.

"Hello?" A small voice said into the line, and Brennan watched Booth's eyes lighten slightly.

"Hi Spencer…" Brennan said, her voice sounded softer, sweeter, and there was a smile on her lips. Her eyes never left Booth's.

"Oh! Tempe, is that you? Did you see daddy yet? Is he okay? Did you tell him that I love him?" The little girl giggled over the line.

"I haven't been by to see him yet, Spencer Rose, but when I do… I'll be sure to tell him."

"Daddy is a baby when he is sick Tempe… don't let him be a big baby." She said seriously, though the happiness in her voice was infectious as Brennan refused to look away.

"I just wanted to check to see if you were being a good little girl."

"Yes, Ma'am." The tiny voice replied.

"I'll see you tonight, Spencer."

"Okay. Bye Tempe… say hi to the mummies for me."

"I will." She smiled as she swallowed hard. "Bye, Spence." She said, hitting the hang up button on the phone she noticed immediately that Booth had a bit of a tear in his eye. "Four years ago, Spencer's mother and little brother were in a car accident in which both were killed. The only two to survive the accident was Spencer, who was two years old at the time, and her father…"

"Agent Matthew Cooke."

"That is correct." She replied. "I showed you mine." She said, crossing her arms over her chest. "Show me yours." She challenged her partner, not missing for a second slight bit of surprise in his eyes at her words.


	9. Hold Your Breath As The Silence Screams

_There was a sharp knock at the door, not just a simple rapping, but almost a banging. Booth looked up from his bowl of popcorn and the action movie that he had chosen for the evening and looked toward the door. He looked at his watch and noted the hour, a little after ten. He sighed as he walked over to the door and looked through the peep hole, only to see the frantic face of his partner. He swung the door open. "Bones?" He asked, as she came stomping through the living room in a whirlwind of emotion, and he could swear that she was practically in tears. "Bones, are you alright?"_

_"No!" She exclaimed, her eyes were puffy and red, and he hadn't seen her look this upset in years. "No, I'm not alright! Matthew told me what you did to him." She snapped angrily._

_"Of course he did." Booth rolled his eyes. "He had it coming."_

_"What did he do, Booth? Huh? What did he do? Did he hurt your fragile ego? Did he… did he… call you a… a… has been, or a loser? What did he do that would warrant what you did to him?" She said, pushing Booth with her hands. "If you want to be mad at someone, you should be mad at me, why don't you punch me? Why don't you knock me down, huh?" She shouted, pushing Booth again._

_"Bones, stop."_

_"No! No, I won't stop! You're a bitter man! You're mean, and you're bitter, and you're hateful!" She exclaimed. "You don't care about my happiness! You came back from Afghanistan with a big chip on your shoulder because I wouldn't give you a damn chance before we left, well here's your chance! You want to spar? Spar with me!"_

_"I don't want to spar with you, Bones." He said, stepping back when she shoved him again. "Stop pushing me, Bones."_

_"Why? Are you going to give me a black eye too?"_

_"Bones, stop… "_

_"No! You're nothing but a…"_

_"Bones, stop!" He exclaimed, and before he could say anything more, his hand was on her mouth, covering it as he watched her eyes widen. He was about to pull his hand away, when she reacted quicker than he ever imagined, grabbed his arm, twisted it behind his back and swung him around, slamming him chest first into the door with his arm neatly behind his back. "Holy…"_

_"You'll think again before you do that, won't you?" She snapped angrily._

_"I'm not going to fight you, Bones."_

_"You made the first move, Booth." She whispered fiercely in his ear._

_"Bones, stop this right now." He grunted, his breath having been knocked out of his lungs, he was still trying to catch it._

_"Tell me why you did what you did?"_

_"Why I sparred with Cookie?" He said, feeling the pressure on his arm tighten as she pulled up. "Cooke! Cooke! Why I sparred with Cooke?"_

_"Yes."_

_"Because he wanted to." He said with a grunt. "Why, what did he tell you?"_

_"He said that… you were the one that injured him." _

_"Did you ask him how it happened?" He asked._

_"He said you were sparring." She replied._

_"And then what did you do, Bones?"_

_"I left… to find you."_

_"Right. I'm sorry I hurt your goddamned freaking boyfriend, okay?" He grunted. "Can I have my arm back?" He growled. _

_She suddenly released his arm, stepped back and watched him turn around against the door. "Booth, he's not my boyfriend." She said, her eyes narrowing accusingly._

_"It's fine, Bones." He shook his head, his own anger working its way into his emotions. "It's just absolutely fine, okay? Because I found someone… What was between us, it's done, right? I mean we had no intentions to take this relationship to another level, right? We're just partners, and that's all we'll ever be, so I went out and I found myself someone who isn't afraid to let me love them the way they deserve to be loved, someone who accepts my love." He growled at her, watching those blue eyes widen and lighten right in front of him, and they sparkled with unshed tears. "I guess I'm just fulfilling my biological imperative, you know? Making love for the sake of making love, because the one person that I wanted to love is with someone else… and if she's not with someone else, she'd rather be alone than with me! It's just fine, Bones… It's fine." He growled, as she allowed a tear to fall down her cheek. "You can be nasty to me, I can be nasty right back."_

_"Who?" She choked. "Who is this woman?"_

_"Her name is Sarah… and I met her at a bar a couple of weekends ago… you know, when you were out doing whatever it is you do with Cooke." He said angrily. "Your boy toy and I finished the case report this afternoon, and he challenged me to a sparring match… things got pretty rough, and I ended up socking him in the eye. If you had hung around for more than a minute to get the full story, I'm sure he would have told you the same thing, instead… you come running over here to kick my ass and defend his honor? What the hell, Bones? You know I'm not an ass." He shook his head._

_"I was… Booth, I just… I am not with him, Booth. I don't want to be with him. My… my relationship with him has gotten quite complicated, and there are so many things that I want to talk to you about, but we haven't had much time to do that. I've thought about it, and I had decided that I want to be with you. I need to…" She tried to express her thoughts, but the words just wouldn't come out, and before she could say another word, she jumped with his abrupt response._

_"No." He snapped, rubbing his arm. "No, Bones, you've made it quite clear to me what's going on, okay? What's done is done." He said angrily. "Whatever was between us is done, okay? You found someone else you can confide in, and I've found what I am looking for too. I am done fighting with you, Bones. I'm done." He said, swinging his door open. "So if you don't mind, I'd appreciate it if you'd let me get back to my evening!" He said as he watched her chest heave with emotion. He tried his very best not to be affected by the emotion that she was obviously holding back, and he glared angrily toward her. It was only a moment, but it felt like forever, as she released that deeply held breath and sucked it back in again. With that breath, it was as if she had stolen every ounce of oxygen from the room, because as she took a step forward, her eyes completely avoiding his, he felt as if he were choking. He closed his eyes when she crossed the threshold, and with a swift swing of his hand, closed the door, the slamming sound reverberating to his very soul as he heard her feet angrily retreating down the hallway, until all he could hear was the sound of silence screaming in his ears. _

* * *

They were standing nearly two feet apart, and like any other time between the two of them, there was never any regard for personal space. It just didn't exist in their realm. She was just as happy to stand exactly where he was standing at any time, as he was to do the same. Their eyes were tracing circles around one another's faces, noting, cataloguing, and registering each and every twitch, nuance, movement or blink. Her eyes moved instantly to his tongue as it slipped from between his lips, running along his lower lip as if he felt his lips were sealed until they were moist again. Her lower lip slipped into her mouth for a moment, popping out as his eyes focused on it for a split second before they moved back up to her eyes.

She watched and waited patiently, for if Temperance Brennan had anything, it was patience. She controlled her facial movements, being sure not to look desperate for an answer, and at the same time, feeling the need to excuse herself in order to control the twisting in her stomach.

"There is… there was a Sarah." He replied softly. "She was a woman that I met at a bar… but that was all she was." He whispered.

"A one night stand?" Brennan whispered.

"No, Bones." He shook his head. "She was just a woman at a bar… I met her… that's all. I went home, alone."

"So you lied to me?" She whispered, the sound was torturous and soft, and he could see the pain in her eyes. "You wanted me to believe that you were with someone else." She whispered.

"I was hurt, Bones. I know that it's no excuse, but since I've gotten home… hell, since Christmas when you first told me about Cooke… I've been a basket case."

"I don't know what that means." She whispered.

"I've been edgy… nervous… hurt."

"You haven't told me. You've been home for nearly two months, you have never once told me that you were feeling this way."

"You've noticed I've been distant."

"I thought it was because you were dealing with being back from Afghanistan, and our changing relationship. I just… I didn't know that you…"

"If you listened to the messages." He whispered. "It wasn't a secret, Bones."

She turned her head and focused on the computer for a moment, the message window still open from the first message, and she could feel the pit in her stomach growing larger, she could feel the lump in her throat, the tears welling up in her eyes. "This could have all been avoided, if I had just… listened to the messages." She whispered.

"Yes." He said, waiting for her to look at him again, he watched her stare at the computer. "But I didn't want you to hear them until you were ready. I could tell at Christmas you weren't ready. Our conversations after Christmas? I could tell that you weren't ready. When I got home, I knew that you weren't ready."

"Now?"

"That's up to you, Bones."

"I think I'm ready." She whispered.

"You think?" He whispered.

"I know." She swallowed her words, they were soft and tender, and he could see that she was battling to keep herself together.

"I'm going to get out of your way, okay? I have a few things that I have to do, and we can talk later, alright?"

"You'll call me?" She whispered.

"No, you'll call me. Call me when you're ready to talk, okay?" He stepped forward, and tenderly reached his hand to her face, letting the tear that was trailing down her cheek soak into the skin of his thumb. He watched her taking slow, deep breaths, and lowered his forehead to touch hers, so their eyes met steadily. "Are we okay?"

"I think so." She whispered immediately.

"Good." He replied, resting his lips on her forehead for a moment, he pulled from her reluctantly, feeling her hand release from his arm where she had instinctively placed it as he slowly backed toward the door. "We'll talk."

"Yes." She said, watching him slowly slip from her office and into the lab, as she finally released the breath she was holding.


	10. Our Moment Has Passed

**_Please note that these are in italics... and Italics means 'past'_**

* * *

_Booth came into the lab in a flurry of frustration, his shoes slapping the ground as if his heels were on fire. Since he had kicked Brennan out of his apartment the night before, their argument had been rattling around in his brain, only continuing to agitate him. He had settled back on his couch, his appetite gone sour as the events trailed through his mind again and again. He could picture the anger in her eyes; hear the venom that slipped out with each syllable. He rubbed his arm, sore from her assault as he quickly approached the darkened office of his partner and let out a heaving sigh. "Goddamn it." He muttered._

_"Seeley?" Cam's voice sounded from the platform, he turned to see his friend looking down at him, and his brow knitted. His jaw was clicking with the tension that was building with each passing second._

_"Where is Bones?" He snapped, catching Cam's look of surprise at his agitation._

_"She called in." Cam replied. "She didn't tell you about the accident last night?" Cam asked, watching Booth's face go pale at her words. "No, no… not Doctor Brennan, she's fine." She said, watching as his jaw and his fists clenched in frustration. "Seeley, are you okay?"_

_"I'm fine, what accident?" He was finally able to ask, recovering from his shock as he stammered for a moment._

_"Agent Cooke… that other case he was working on last week. There was a break in the case, and he was chasing a suspect down. He got into a pretty bad car accident." She said, watching Booth glance to the door and back at her._

_"What hospital?" He said as Cam gave him a confused expression. "Cam, what hospital?" He asked, impatient at her pause._

_"Georgetown, why?" She asked as Booth began walking quickly toward the door. "Booth, why?"_

_"Because I have a bone to pick with someone." He said, marching out of the lab as quickly as he had come in, leaving Cam completely confused at his behavior._

_He drove to the hospital, with his mind in a complete scramble. He wasn't sure if he was angry, concerned, or just irritated. He knew what had happened during the sparring match, and he was quite clear on what happened between himself and Brennan the night before, he just didn't know how to fix it. He knew that he wanted to fix it, but the closer he came to the hospital, the more frustrated he became. The sparring match from the afternoon before came sliding back into his memory._

* * *

_-_  
_Booth shuffled the papers and looked at the handwriting on the report as he placed the top paper down and erased a couple of marks on the sheet. He looked over at Cooke as he put his papers in the briefcase on the chair across the room, and eyed him carefully. "So what are your plans tonight, Cookie?" Booth asked as he tried to remain nonchalant in his questioning._

_"I don't know, Bren was going to stop by when she was through at the lab." Cooke said, glancing to Booth, he barely missed the glare that was thrown in his direction._

_"Hey, I've been meaning to ask… what is going on between you and Bones, anyway?"_

_"Oh…not much." He said, his mouth clamping shut as he gave Booth a polite smile._

_"Cooke? I mean… what are your intentions?" Booth said, trying to look the other man in the eye, he noticed that Cooke was laughing slightly._

_"What are my intentions? What are you, her father?" He asked with a shake of his head._

_"Has she told you about her father?" Booth asked, his eyes narrowing slightly as he watched the other man carefully._

_"I've heard of Max Keenan… the case was pretty well known." He said, closing his suitcase. He glanced to Booth and noticed that he was watching him. "Thanks for helping with that paperwork. It's the worst part of the job, if you ask me." He said with a light chuckle._

_"You never answered my question." Booth replied, interrupting abruptly. "What are your intentions with Bones?"_

_"Well… she's a nice woman, intelligent, beautiful… very insightful when it comes to pretty much anything. I wouldn't mind seeing her outside that lab coat more often." He said with a smile, his eyes kind of sparkling when he spoke of her._

_"Hey… a little respect. She's a professional, and she's my partner."_

_Cooke let out a laugh at the other man's irritation of his words, and realized that perhaps it didn't come out quite the way he had intended, however he didn't correct himself. "Come on, man… are you telling me that you never once thought about her in a way other than as your partner?" Cooke goaded as the other man glared across at him._

_"You like those teeth you got there, Cookie?" Booth said, and though he was only half joking, the other half of him was dead serious. Booth hated when other men had that leering look about them when it came to his partner, and the way Cooke was, he was a taken aback by the man's sincere attraction to his partner and friend. In fact, he had no idea how far their relationship actually went, because Brennan had never brought it up._

_"All I'm saying, is that she deserves more than just being asked to analyze remains. She has a very big heart to go with her very big brain." Cooke replied as he grabbed his coat and walked toward the door. He turned and faced Booth, noting that he was glaring again, he simply smiled. "Do you want me to bring that paperwork over to the lab? I was going to stop by and ask her to dinner."_

_"No, it's fine... I can drop it off in the morning." Booth shrugged._

_"It's alright, I was on the way to the lab anyway." He said, lifting the folders from the desk, he tucked them under his arm and smiled. "Date tonight?" Cooke asked, giving Booth a smirk as Booth shook his head._

_"Sorry, Cookie... You're not my type." Booth joked back as he grabbed his coat._

_"Funny." Cooke laughed. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow, I have to get to the gym before I head over to the lab..." He said as both men walked out of Booth's office. "Hey, how are you at hand to hand combat?"_

_"Sparring?" Booth laughed. "Why, are you challenging me?"_

_"Challenging... asking if you're interested..." He shrugged. "Same thing?"_

_"I haven't done it in a while, may be a bit rusty, but I'm always up to a challenge. Bones and I have had our share of suspects to wrangle." Booth replied._

_"Fine then, I'm challenging you." Cooke laughed, watching Booth shrug, and follow after him as they headed toward the FBI gym._

_Once they were changed and in their gear, they stood across from one another on the mat, ready to begin their match. Each wore a pair of sweatpants and a white t-shirt, and both seemed quite amused at the prospect of grappling. To start, Booth reached up and grabbed the man's shoulders, of which Cooke did the same. Their heads rested on one another's shoulders, until Booth leaned forward and swept his leg, sending the other man slamming into the mat on his back. He immediately knocked the wind out him, and Booth let out a triumphant grunt._

_"You okay?" Booth asked, watching Cooke's face as he grinned at the man above him, holding him down. "Maybe you're the one that's a bit rusty..." Booth laughed as he stood back up and helped Cooke to his feet, instantly, Cooke grabbed hold of Booth's arm and twisted it back, slamming him to the mat as his arm twisted around and Cooke held him down._

_"Maybe not." Cooke laughed, as Booth suddenly kicked his feet up and rolled himself, pulling his arm out of its lock, he rolled quickly, toppling Cooke as Booth ended up slamming him into the mat yet again. "Somehow I get the feeling there's a little something behind this aggression toward me." Cooke said quickly as both men got to their feet. Booth took a shot or two and missed, as they danced a bit around the mat, taking light jabs at one another._

_"Oh yeah?" Booth asked, giving him a nice solid punch to the side, Cooke let out a laugh and did the same to Booth as Cooke swung again, only to have his arm caught by Booth, sending him swinging around again, he turned sharply and delivered a blow to Booth's side. "What do I have to be aggressive about?" He asked, punching the man again, trying not to hit too hard, interested in what he had to say._

_"You think I'm moving in on your partner." He laughed, feeling the strength behind Booth's kick as he landed it hard into his leg as he swept around and did the same. Perspiration glistened off their bodies as they continued to spar, grunts and growls were exchanged as they continued._

_"You are moving in on my partner, aren't you? And you damn well better not hurt her, do you understand me?" He asked, swinging a punch hard into the other man's side, Cooke let out a grunt as he punched back, the strength behind Booth's fighting was becoming stronger, and Cooke wasn't quite as solid as the other man, and quickly found that he was out matched._

_"You're holding back." Cooke grunted, as they traded blows once again, sweat and spit flying with each punch as they moved around the mat again, suddenly finding themselves caught in a wrestling move that they couldn't quite get out of._

_"I'm not holding back."_

_"I mean with Bren." Cooke said, feeling Booth push away. "You want her." He said, shaking his head._

_"Stop." He said, panting as he looked at the other man. "Stop talking about Bones like she's a damn piece of meat, okay? She's not to be won, she's not some prize... She's my partner, my friend."_

_"You're in love with her, man." Cooke said, a laugh. "You're in love with her, and you're too damned chicken shit to go after her. Probably because she turned you down the first time. Probably made you feel like a loser." Cooke said as before he could even think, or say another word, Booth's fists connect with his face and chest, and he felt his body flying backwards onto the mat as the air rushed out of his lungs. He felt the sparring gloves that Booth had on his hands slam into his chest as the other man stomped away without another look or word in the younger man's direction and disappeared into the locker room._

* * *

_Booth straightened himself a bit as he pulled into the parking lot of the hospital, and made his way quickly through the doors. He asked for Agent Cooke's room, knowing full well that he would find Brennan at his bedside, and didn't want to get in the middle of whatever they were in the middle of. Sure, he had punched Cooke because he had called him out on his bullshit, but he still didn't know what Cooke had told Brennan, and from the sound of their argument the night before, he hadn't said a word to her about it._

_He was just walking toward the room when he looked around the corner to see Brennan talking to a nurse briefly. He paused where he was standing and waited until she walked back into the room, then he continued down the hallway. He stood to the side, watching her as she sat at his bedside, his eyes were closed and he looked pretty bad off._

_His leg was in a cast, elevated, his face cut up and scratched, on top of the black eye he had given him the night before, and Booth cringed a bit at the pain he appeared to be in. Brennan was sitting beside him, her hand on his as she leaned close to him and whispered, talking softly to him as Booth watched his eyes open and look toward her, a slight smile on his lips as he caught her eyes. Booth's stomach clenched at the way this other man looked at his partner, the woman that he loved, and from the look of the way things were going, it didn't matter that he loved her. He was about to walk away, when he noticed she had turned her head and noticed him, he turned and started to walk back down the hallway quickly, embarrassed that he had been caught. All fight in him had disappeared._

_He heard her voice calling to him, and he couldn't keep walking. He stopped and slowly turned, just as she approached him. "Booth, what are you doing here?" She asked, her eyes moving from his chest to her eyes as her head tipped questioningly for a moment, and then they narrowed to look a little more accusingly at him._

_"I was going to come and talk to you..." He replied. "He's okay?"_

_"He's fine." She said, straightening herself as she continued to stare into his eyes. "What did you want to talk about?"_

_"I just..." He stammered for a moment, picturing the look on Cooke's face, the words that he had spoken the night before, and despite the argument between the two of them the night before. "Last night... what I did to Cooke...'_

_"I don't have time, Booth." She snapped. "We can talk about this another time, okay?"_

_"I want to talk about it now, Bones. We need to talk about it now."_

_"I don't have to do anything now, and I have absolutely nothing to say about what happened between you and Cooke, or what happened between you and me." She said, crossing her arms over her chest._

_"So our moment has passed, I guess." His eyes narrowed._

_"I guess it has." She snapped back, as she turned around and moved back down the hallway toward the hospital room, as he watched her disappear inside._


	11. The Past Is Your Present For The Future

Brennan sat at her desk, her eyes focused on the door for several minutes after he left the room. She didn't know where he was going, and figured she had no right to ask. She watched him pause and talk to Cam for a moment, and her boss nodded her head and took another cursory glance to the office, before walking away toward her own office. Booth paused for a moment, and their eyes caught between the glass as he flashed her a ghost of that cocky grin. She could feel a light heat in her cheeks at the sparkle in his eye, one that was even visible from so far across the room, she had to ask herself how long it had been there without her noticing.

Probably forever.

She watched him turn away, that sparkling warmth replaced by a humming silence that wasn't quite uncomfortable, but didn't have that magic of her partner's energy that seemed to just invade a room and encompass each and every corner. She forced herself to stare at her computer screen, the messages that he had left, the tiny little envelope icon that sat beside each and every one of them showing that they had yet to be listened to.

She suddenly had a sense of guilt wash over her, guilt for not listening to them, guilt for being afraid, guilt for knowing what these little digital treasures held, but denying herself and him the satisfaction and answers that they both ached to hold. Her shaky hand moved to the mouse, pulling the little white arrow across the screen, she allowed it to hover over the next message as she held her breath and clicked, closing her eyes to the sound of his voice.

"Hey Bones… I've been in Afghanistan for about a week. The guys here are pretty good to work with, a couple of ladies too, so I should probably amend that statement." His voice chuckled over the line. "Just got off the phone with Parker, he says he misses me… I miss him too, and I told him so. I miss you. I hope you're having fun with all of your bones and stuff… Bones…" He chuckled again, and it was followed by a wistful sigh as his voice lowered. "I am sorry that we left things the way we left them, Bones. I want you to know that I am sorry that I pushed you. I know better than to push you. If I wanted to give us a chance, I should have told you, and given you time. I hope you've had time… by the time you hear these messages. I hope that you have thought about what you mean to me, and what I mean to you. I hope that someday you have the courage to hear what I have to say. I should probably go… but I'll be thinking about you, a lot. Be safe, Bones. I love you." He whispered as the line disconnected. She bit her lip, trying to hold in the emotions as her thoughts and memories brought her back to those moments that she often thought of him, wondering, worrying, and hoping that he was keeping himself safe from the dangers of that war zone.

* * *

_Brennan had been in Maluku for nearly two weeks, her eyes were focused on the taunting cursor on her laptop as she attempted to work on her first report for the project. Things were starting off slowly, but the excitement was in the air, and she could feel that the other scientists were already looking to her for cues and her thoughts. She shared what experience she could, trying her hardest to avoid Daisy at each and every turn, which was a lot more difficult than it seemed it would be._

_Daisy had almost literally clung to her for the first couple of days, frightened by snakes and other jungle species that she'd come across, until finally Brennan had to tell her to back off. She would see the other scientist from a distance after that, her eyes still imploring as if she were looking for guidance, but she did keep her distance after a while. It was nearing on that two week mark and of course they hadn't found anything, so she had absolutely nothing to report. She felt bored suddenly, useless, and a little tired. Her eyes flashed to her watch, still clearly on Eastern Standard time, despite the two weeks she had been here._

_She sat back in her chair, her eyes flickering over her belongings for a moment as she imagined her apartment in her mind, and wished she could just curl up on the couch with some Thai food, stretch her feet into Booth's leg as they talked, and just laugh the evening away. She closed her eyes, shaking her head as she realized a small smile had lifted the corners of her mouth as she felt warmth in her cheeks and a light chuckle deep in her voice. Why did her thoughts automatically go to him again? She sighed, that smile still on her lips as she reached up and closed the laptop, moved to her cot and lay down on her side. She pulled her pillow from beneath her head and wrapped her arms around it tightly as she closed her eyes, pressing her nose into the fabric as she tried to find some sense of comfort in the strangeness that surrounded her and the fear and sadness that was threatening to engulf her._

* * *

"Bones… I don't have a lot of time, but I just wanted to let you know I'm thinking about you. I miss you… I hope you're thinking about me. We're leaving on an assignment in about fifteen minutes. I will keep my promise to you. I love you, be safe, Temperance."

* * *

_It was nearing the end of June and Brennan made her way quickly through the dig site to her tent. She had just had another discussion with the team and each and every day she seemed to be getting more and more agitated. She didn't know what it was, but her temper was short and explosive, and she noticed that it was becoming more and more difficult to concentrate. Between the insomnia, and the nightmares that she'd have when she was actually able to sleep, she was worn out and exhausted. She entered the tent and practically collapsed on her cot, her eyes focusing on the top of the canvas as she closed her eyes tightly, her breathing erratic from running so quickly. She could hear the commotion of the team outside and covered her ears with her hands. She knew that it was a childish thing to do, but she was just hoping to be able to escape it for a moment, a few moments._

_The first thing she saw when she closed her eyes was the lab. She could tell anyone where each and every angle led in that lab and she would find it soothing to think about it. She could practically hear the clacking of her shoes on the floor, when she'd walk through it early in the morning. She could smell the sterile smells of the chemicals and steel mixed with the fragrant plants that bloomed beneath the open skylight above. She could feel the softness of her chair in her office, and sense the impending knock on her door from her partner, who she could always depend on to give her life just a little bit more excitement. Regardless of the chases and interrogations, the thrill of solving a murder that would otherwise go unsolved if she hadn't leant her helping hand to the FBI, her pulse always raced when her partner was in the room. Whether they were on a hot pursuit, or relaxing after a long day, eating at her place or his, having a drink at the Founding Fathers, he always made her heart race._

_He made her life exciting, playful, warm, and energized. He woke her up to things she never knew existed, and taught her things about herself that he always could see and she could not. She was a pure scientist, a hard scientist, a dedicated scientist. She always needed the proof in front of her before she would believe what she wanted to believe. However, sometimes the risk to find that truth was too much for her, and she'd have to step back, like she did on the steps of the Hoover building. She stepped back when he stepped up. He was brave, and she was not. She said that she was saving him from a life of hurt, of the possibility of her mind changing, of things falling apart around them and taking them both with them, when in reality, she knew that she wasn't strong enough to take on the responsibility of his heart._

_Seeley Booth is the one person that she knows that has the biggest metaphorical heart of anyone that she had ever met. It was a heavy heart filled with secrets and fears, filled with sorrow and sadness as well as happiness and love. It wasn't a burden, but a gift, but in her own heart, she knew that she was not strong enough to accept it, not now, not yet. He was far too precious to her and far too important of a friend for her to take that risk into her own hands. _

_So she lay there, her breath slowly regulating, her eyes staring blankly into nothing as she felt a soft darkness sweep over her, an exhausted black veil that covered her eyes, and if she knew that it were simply her eyelids, she'd have taken it with great relief, but she felt as if she were slipping into an unknown abyss. She couldn't hold out any longer, and after a moment, let her exhaustion pass her out into darkness._

* * *

"Hey Bones… I just talked to Parker and he said that he got a postcard from you. That was really nice of you to take the time to make him feel included in all of this. I think sometimes he gets kind of lonely, misses me, and he says he misses you too. The assignment went well, and the guys are really working hard out here. I wish we could talk, even for a couple of minutes… I've gotten so used to the voice on your answering machine, I'm hoping that one day, you'll just answer… I love you, Temperance. Please be safe."

* * *

_Brennan sat over the postcard in front of her, a picture of a serene beach on the other side of it as she pored over what she was going to write. What do you write to a young boy on the back of a tiny bit of cardboard that would impact him properly without giving him the wrong impression?_

_What is the right impression?_

_She sighed as she let the tip of the pen settle on the white cardboard for a moment, sliding it delicately to spell his name._

_"Parker." She said aloud as she wrote it, her thoughts moving to Booth and his stories of the young man that his son was named for. He hadn't said much, just that it wasn't his fault he had died, that he had felt such guilt for such a long time and his experience on that ship had changed all of that. Whether it was a ghost or a hallucination, it had apparently helped him. _

_She then thought of all of the new memories, the new fears, the new regrets and guilt that would arise from his post in Afghanistan. He was the best in his field, the best… but what did being the best entail?_

_Killing. Killing and teaching to kill, two things that they had spent the past five years stopping people from doing. She felt a pang of guilt in her chest and it traveled to the pit of her stomach where it remained. She stared at the paper and lifted the pen as she closed her eyes for a moment and envisioned her partner. Yes, he'd be feeling guilt, he'd be feeling pain, and she knew that she would need to help him through it. She was ready for that, ready for that challenge, ready to hold his hand, but she wasn't sure if she was ready for what it all meant. She was proud of Booth, for his bravery, his loyalty, and his love. He was like no other._

_She opened her eyes. Put her pen to the postcard, and told Parker just that._

* * *

"Temperance." His voice was a bit rattled, and she could tell he was upset. "I just needed… to hear your voice. We lost a couple of guys to an ambush a day ago, and this is the first opportunity I could get to a phone, but I just needed to hear your voice. I'm trying so hard not to be a hero out here, Bones. I'm trying so hard not to… be me, trying not to feel so much, and be so sensitive. I can't help it. I need you. I want to get out of here." He paused, sniffling a bit. "I need to go… please be safe. I love you."

* * *

_Brennan was at the dig site, her eyes focused on the remains in front of her, dusting slowly as the other team members kept their distance. She wasn't angry or shouting, just quiet and reserved, and nobody wanted to risk an explosion. _

_She had gotten through to Daisy fairly early on that just because they had worked at the Jeffersonian, she had still been fired twice for her incompetence, so she needed to keep her distance and let her work. With each new discovery, Brennan wished she was at her lab with her shiny equipment that Booth always made fun of her for. She knew that Cam appreciated the lab and its equipment, and had seen her more than once admiring the shine of the stainless steel fortress around them._

_She sighed, knowing full well that she had never felt this bored at a dig site before, always looking for reasons to go back to her tent and type up another 'report', or penning a note to Angela, sending her pictures of the dig, the team, the beautiful island that surrounded her despite her own misery. She thought that she was coming across as opaque, something that she had perfected over the years, that solid, steely glare, and the confusion laden eyes. Many times it was an act, she was a genius after all, and she didn't always want to flaunt it, but she was an anthropologist first and foremost, and it was always important to her that she deal with people on a step by step basis._

_First step is to appear uninterested, almost bored with the other person's knowledge_

_Second step, question their intelligence._

_If they pass the second step and are seen as an intellectual equal, or at least respect her and encourage her need for the truth, they are allowed a small glimpse into the truth that is Temperance Brennan._

_Otherwise, you are considered an outsider and completely walled from the truth._

_Booth was the only person who had scaled that wall. He was smart, charming and sincere. He respected her knowledge, her expertise, and above all had always believed in her._

_He was her partner._

_He was her backup._

_He was her friend._

_He was her home._

_He was her everything._

_She dusted a bit more of the dirt from the bone, placing it in the designated box as one of the team members brought it to the other remains, and she stood up, wiping the sweat from her brow with the rag in her belt loop, she looked around, and for the infinite time since she had arrived._

_Temperance Brennan wished she could go home._

* * *

"Happy Turkey Day, Bones." His voice was happier, more alive, and she could sense he was feeling better than some of the past calls. "I hope you're enjoying your… Maluku Thanksgiving, okay… I know, I know… American holiday… I can hear your lecture right now, the rolling of your eyes, and your endearing anthropological diatribe about how we killed off all of the Native Americans and ate their food and made them eat ours, and take our religion, and…" He paused. "And I miss that." He smiled into the line, a smile that could be heard through the simple lines of the telephone, just by the inflection and tone of his voice. She could picture that smile. "I just wanted to tell you that I am thankful to have you as my friend, Bones… thankful that you're always there for me when I need you, even…if you're not… there physically, I know that you're thinking about me. I can feel it, and I'm thinking about you. Not eating turkey and mashed potatoes today… not sitting around the table with friends and loved ones… it puts things into perspective. I miss you… and I appreciate you, and I love you… and I'm sorry that I was too afraid to tell you that day outside the Hoover. I should have told you how I felt about you, I should have never let you go. I hope that you can forgive me. Please forgive me? I love you, Bones… Temperance… you keep me alive… even if you don't believe that it's scientifically possible. Please be safe. Happy Thanksgiving."

* * *

_Thanksgiving was never a holiday that she celebrated. Her team members were from many different countries, but there was a small group of Americans that always seemed to stick together for typical American holidays. Thanksgiving was not an exception. _

_She had thought that she would spend the day alone in her tent away from the team but instead accompanied them to their small dinner prepared as a tribute to Thanksgiving. They made conversation, listing the things they were thankful for, talking amongst themselves while Temperance listened and remained quiet for the most part._

_Daisy spoke up, seeing that the anthropologist was sitting a bit shyly at her chair, quietly poking at the meal on her plate._

_"What are you thankful for, Doctor Brennan?" She asked in her typically saccharine tone._

_"Excuse me?" Brennan asked, looking up from her meal she noticed that the other people around the table were looking at her, she looked confused._

_"What are you thankful for, Doctor Brennan?" Daisy asked again, watching the doctor stare at her for a moment as if she were still confused, as if she thought she was speaking another language. _

_Brennan couldn't think of the words, words that these people deserved to hear. She was thankful for a lot of things, a lot of things that she couldn't have right at this very moment. She let her eyes move around the table as she watched the eyes staring back at her, the long pause becoming even longer as they waited for her reply. _

_She had gotten word earlier that week that her request had been considered by the Maluku Project board, her request to return to the United States and the Jeffersonian to continue research under a controlled environment. She wanted to tell them that she was thankful for that, thankful that she was leaving, thankful that she would be going home and escaping the uncomfortable days and sleepless nights of this boredom driven nightmare she was experiencing When suddenly, the satellite phone rang in the corner of the mess tent, taking the focus off of Brennan. She went back to poking at her meal as the phone was answered, and before the conversation was complete, she had taken her plate and fork and slipped out of the tent unnoticed, thankful that she was no longer being put on the spot, thankful that she was alone with her thoughts, and thankful that she would be going home soon where she belonged._

* * *

"Alright… so it's almost Christmas… what did you get me?" He asked, his voice was clear and crisp and there was no background noise that she typically heard on one of the phone calls. "I was transferred to a different base… it's a little quieter here, huh?" He said, his voice sounded happier. "This isn't the type of Christmas I was hoping for, but I guess it'll do… And I know that Christmas Eve isn't until tomorrow… so I'll make sure to call you then also. I imagine you're spending your holiday working too hard, eating too little, and maybe bossing around a person or two… sounds like the perfect Christmas for you, Bones." He paused, and she could hear the emotion in his voice. "I hope your Christmas is not spent alone, Bones…I'd be there if I could be. I just… I wish that we could talk. That's what my Christmas wish would be, just to… hear you say something more than for me to leave a message. I love you with all of my heart… all of it… be safe." His voice clicked off and Brennan looked down at the droplets of tears that had dropped onto her papers, her desk. She sniffled as she ran her hand across her face, sucking in a deep breath as she tried to rub away the tears as she sniffled again. She sighed when the phone rang, and swallowed hard as she then took a deep breath, lifting up the receiver.

"Brennan."

"Sweetie, are you okay?" Angela asked as she heard her friend release a deep, rattling, sorrow filled breath and waited for her to tell her what was going on.


	12. Necessity

Brennan wished that she could disguise the sadness in her voice, but it was much too late for that. She held her breath for a moment and even considered hanging up on her friend, but ultimately knew she'd have to answer.

"Brennan, answer me." Angela demanded, hearing her friend trying to compose herself. "I'm serious Bren, what's going on?"

"Nothing." She managed to whisper.

"This isn't nothing, Sweetie. You sound really upset. If you don't tell me what's going on, then I'm on the next plane home."

Brennan let out a slight laugh and sucked in a breath. Her laughter sounded strangled and sad to Angela, almost sarcastic. "I… am okay." She said, trying to disguise her voice, though it cracked as she spoke.

"I didn't ask you if you were okay, Brennan. I asked what happened."

"He… loves me." She managed to whisper.

"Who loves you, Bren? Come on, out with it."

"I am socially inept." Brennan muttered.

"Sweetie?"

"I'm a failure at every relationship, both romantic and otherwise."

"Brennan."

"I am a screw up. I deserve to be alone for the rest of my life."

"Stop, Bren."

"This isn't the way that this was supposed to happen."

"Bren."

"I can't believe I did this."

"Did what?" There was silence over the line suddenly, and Angela waited for her friend to reply. "Brennan, I am serious. I need some specifics here."

"He thought that I was in love with Cooke."

"Who, Booth?"

"Yes."

"But you're not… you said he is just a good friend."

"A very good friend, yes."

"Not a friend with benefits."

"I don't know what that means."

Angela knew that she needed some answers. It was almost as if Brennan was talking in code, and that fact alone made her nervous. Temperance Brennan was never at a loss for words, even if it were randomly strung together stream of consciousness, her best friend was never speechless. "Did something happen, sweetie? Is Booth alright?"

"I told him that I love him."

Angela could hear the tortured sound in her friend's voice, the fear of having revealed her innermost feelings, the secret that she held so close to her heart that it had practically become part of it. She listened to her friend's breathing, the soft, panicky sound in the back of her throat, and the way that she almost whimpered her next words.

"I'm so confused."

"Sweetie…"

"I have to go, Angela." Brennan whispered.

"Bren, no… you have to talk to me about this."

"No, I really have to go, Ange. I have to go find someone, and fix this."

"Bren…" Angela started to say, though Brennan only heard that much before she slammed the receiver down. It took only a moment, and the phone began to ring again. Brennan saw that the number was Angela's and closed her eyes, her hand still on the phone as she pulled it away as if it had burned her.

She stood up and grabbed her bag, swinging it over her shoulder, she stood up and walked toward the door, listening to the sound of the phone ringing as she reached the door, she looked back at the phone and sighed. "I'm sorry, Ange…" She muttered as she swung the door to her office open and made her way quickly through the lab, the sound of her phone ringing in the background, as she disappeared out of the glass doors toward the elevators.

She made her way down to her car, her mind reeling with the sound of Booth's voice over the messages. His words were echoing in her brain, and she couldn't believe that it had taken her this long to listen to them. He was right when he said she wasn't ready at Christmas time, and frankly she wasn't quite sure if she was ready for those words now. She got into her car and started it, pulling the car out of the parking garage and toward the street, she wasn't sure of where she was going. She had options, she had many options, and none of which seemed like an escape to her.

Did she want to escape?

Or did she want to embrace this epiphany?

She let the car drive her wherever it wanted to go, because obviously she wasn't in charge of herself. She listened to the sound of her cell phone ringing in her bag, obviously it was Angela, but she had no desire to talk to her friend right now. She pulled the phone from her bag and stared at the number for a moment, wondering if she should call Booth. He told her to call her when she wanted to talk, he told her to call him when she was ready, when she had heard his messages, when she had felt his emotions, and listened to his soul as he poured it out over the line. She was so tempted to press those buttons, for the same scenes played out in her mind.

That moment in the airport when they said goodbye, the many and frequent phone calls that she had gotten after Christmas, with no mention of love by name. Though if she thought about it, she could hear the love in his voice, in the memory of his voice during those phone calls.

* * *

_"Brennan." She said, answering the phone as she always did, and though it was nearly two in the morning, she didn't even notice the time._

_"Bones, why are you still at the lab?"_

_"Booth?"_

_"Who else calls you this late on a school night?" He asked, a ring of laughter in his voice at his joke._

_"School?"_

_"Bones… did you eat dinner yet?"_

_"Why, are you buying?" She teased._

_"Funny." He said, and she heard his chuckle. "You should go home and get some rest, Bones."_

_"If I go home and get some rest, will you call again tomorrow?"_

_"I will."_

_"When are you coming home?" She asked._

_"Why, do you miss me?"_

_"No." She replied quickly, hearing a faint sigh on the other end._

_"A couple of weeks." He smiled. "Come on, you miss me… don't you, Bones?"_

_"I miss our partnership."_

_"I thought you found a new partner."_

_"Cooke is not you, Booth. He's not even close."_

_"Really?"_

_"Really."_

_"I should go. Go home, Bones."_

_"I'm going home." She sighed._

_"Have sweet dreams."_

_"I have no control over the content of my dreams, Booth."_

_"Goodnight, Bones."_

_"Goodnight, Booth." _

* * *

She sighed as she thought of his thoughtfulness, the sweetness of his voice, the way that he seemed so relieved when she reassured him of their partnership and bond. She wasn't sure what had happened between the two of them, and although she hadn't listened to the messages from early on in the trip, their relationship continued to blossom and grow with each and every phone call.

And with that growth, came increasing fears on Brennan's part as she began to rely on her new friend to reassure her of her relationship with Booth. She and Cooke had spent many hours together outside of work, much in the same way she had spent time with Booth, but it was different. With Cooke, she could talk about the one thing that she couldn't talk about with Booth, or with Angela, or with anyone else in the lab. She could talk about the one person that she had fallen head over heels in love with, the one person that she trusted above all others, and the only person she couldn't talk to Booth about… him.

She drove through the streets of Washington D.C. thinking about all of the things she had shared with Matthew about her relationship with Booth, and remembered the day that he had come back from Afghanistan.

* * *

_Brennan sat at her desk working through some paperwork, her eyes on her computer screen as she sighed, sitting back in her chair for a moment, she stared at the blinking cursor at the bottom of the screen. To say that she was shocked by the voice that came from the door would be the understatement of the century._

_"What's with the pinchy face, Bones?" _

_She gasped with surprise and a smile lit up her face as her blue eyes connected with his gaze. She said nothing as she watched him lean against the door frame, his head tilted as he smiled that charm smile in her direction. "Booth." She said his name, the sound of her voice bringing a smile to his face as he watched her get up from her chair. She moved quickly across the room as he stepped into her office, and immediately, her arms wrapped around him._

_"Whoa…" he said, feeling the strength in her hug as he gave her a tight squeeze back. "Geez, Bones…"_

_"What are you doing here?" She asked, pulling from the hug, she looked into his eyes, her hands lifting to her shoulders as she looked at him intensely. He was wearing jeans and a t-shirt, and looked relaxed, happy._

_"You're not happy to see me?" He teased._

_"Of course I'm happy to see you." She replied, her hand touching his face as she took a step back. "I just… I thought you had a couple more weeks, you said you'd be there for another couple more weeks, and…"_

_"And I may have told you that so you wouldn't worry about me returning."_

_"How long have you been in town?" She asked, her hands still holding his wrists as she continued to look him over. _

_"Just this morning… I had a chance to change into civies, and…" He paused for a moment and smiled. "You look great, Bones. Beautiful… you look beautiful." He whispered, reaching his arms out to pull her into another hug, she fell into it gratefully as she allowed him to hug her tightly. "God, I missed you…"_

_"I missed you." She whispered as she closed her eyes and breathed him in, feeling his warm arms envelop her, as she felt all of the fear and dread from her worries crash down on her like a tidal wave._

* * *

She found that her car was pointed toward the hospital that Matthew was in, because with all that she had shared with him, he was the one person that knew the truth about everything that was true to her. He knew her fears for her future, at least in vague terms. He always listened and encouraged, hoped for her and gave her support. Most people were lucky to have one person in their life to love them unconditionally despite their faults and fears. Brennan was more than lucky, she was blessed, to have two people in her life to love her as much as Booth and Cooke both did.

She knew where she wanted to be, and she needed just a little jolt of courage to bring her over the edge, to tell her not to be afraid of what was gripping her heart and soul. She wasn't afraid of Booth or his heart, his love or his feelings. She was afraid of hurting him, because that was something she would never, ever forgive herself for.


	13. Intention

The sounds of the hospital filled his ears as he lay in the bed, groggy from pain medication. It was day time, the actual time being pointless to know since he was still in quite a precarious position medically. There had been some internal bleeding, and they had gotten that under control, and his leg had been broken in several places, his wrist was also fractured. Drifting in and out of consciousness seemed to be the only thing he could and was willing to do at the moment.

His vision was a bit blurry at first, and the bruise on his eye still ached a bit from when Booth had pummeled him. He turned his head toward the door when he heard the sound of the door opening. The person standing in the doorway, however was the last person that he had expected to visit him.

"Since when do they use FBI issued vehicles for speed bumps in D.C.?" Booth said with a wry grin.

"Economic crisis… they use what they can get their hands on." Cooke mumbled between dried, cracked lips.

"You looked surprised to see me… Expecting Bones?"

"No." He said, his voice whispering as he swallowed hard. "She said lunch time, maybe… if she had time. Bren's a hard worker, you know that better than anyone."

"Yeah, I know Bones." He said, approaching the bed, he watched the younger agent's eyes follow him.

"Here to finish the job?" He asked with a bit of humor in his voice, watching Booth shake his head and laugh.

"Nah… just checking in on you." He said with a friendly nod. "Bones cares about you a lot. It's important to her that you're alright. If it's important to Bones, it's important to me."

"Thought you guys would be on another case by this morning."

"Bones didn't tell you?" Booth asked.

"What?"

"She told me this morning that she wanted to sever our partnership." Booth said, kicking the chair beside the bed, he settled on it and watched the younger agent's eyes meet his. There was a bit of a dazed look in his eyes, but no sense of happiness to his words.

"Booth… I…"

"You could have told me that you knew how she felt, you know."

"It wasn't up to me to tell you."

"You didn't have to make me punch you. It probably would have been less painful if you just came out and told me."

"She's an amazing woman, Booth."

"You don't have to tell me that. Like I said, I know Bones." He said, crossing his arms as he sat back in the chair. "She told me about the day you came looking for her… that first case. She told me about what you did for her on Christmas day… though she did leave out a few details." He said, his light chuckle sincere as Matthew smiled. "I just wish that she trusted me enough to talk to me about us... that she didn't take it to another person."

"I think she was looking for perspective." Matthew whispered. "I think all she needed was time and perspective."

* * *

_Brennan sat at the diner alone, Christmas Day and she hadn't contacted anyone to let them know that she was in town. Cam knew that she was around and had asked if she'd like to share Christmas dinner with she and Michelle, but the offer was politely declined._

_It was nearly nine in the evening, the diner and a couple small restaurants were the only places open on Christmas day, and she knew that she needed to keep true to her promise to Booth when she told him that she'd eat something that day._

_She sat with a cup of coffee, her salad long since forgotten as she allowed the dark liquid in the cup to slosh around with each spoon turn. The coffee was bitter and at this point tepid, and she couldn't help but think that she was feeling the exact same way._

_There was a moment where she heard the sound of the bell on the door ring, and would have turned to look, hoping to see the one familiar face that she missed so much. She closed her eyes and let his voice from earlier invade her memories for a moment, which was when she heard another familiar voice calling her by a nickname, though not the nickname she preferred. It was also most certainly not the voice that she preferred. She looked up and smiled weakly at the man smiling down at her. "Hey." He smiled._

_"Hey." She said, giving him a polite smile, she gave him a confused look. "I haven't found anything yet, if that's why you're…"_

_"No… No, I… Merry Christmas." He smiled; glancing to his side, the sound of two small feet running toward them brought Brennan's attention to the blonde haired little girl with bright green eyes, who literally ran into Matthew._

_"Who is that, Daddy?" The little girl inquired as she pushed her way in front of her father and put her hands on the table, she glanced up at Matthew and back to Brennan._

_"This…" Matthew said as he crouched down to his daughter's level. "This is Doctor Temperance Brennan…"_

_"The scientist?" The little girl's eyes widened excitedly._

_"Yep." Matthew said, looking to Brennan, who looked quite curious at the two of them. "Bren, this is my daughter Spencer. She's a big fan of yours…"_

_Brennan almost laughed, but settled on a smile as the little girl grinned brightly. "I didn't think that my work was appropriate for children." She said, watching Matthew nod toward the chair, she nodded to indicate that he was welcome to sit with her. "It's very nice to meet you, Spencer." She said, holding her hand out, the little girl grinned and shook the scientist's hand and sat in the chair beside her father._

_"My wife was a social studies teacher… she loved ancient ruins and mummies…" He said with a kind smile. "So to keep with tradition, and in memory of my wife and her passion… I've instilled the same love of those things in my daughter."_

_Brennan wanted to question him about the mention of his wife, and if it were five years earlier, she probably would have said something without a second thought of the man before her, or his daughter. However, through the years working closely with Booth, she had learned a thing or two about tact, and though it wasn't always placed exactly where it should be, she was very conscious of the situation before her. "Well, Anthropology, and ancient studies… they are both very interesting subjects, and though probably not entirely suitable for a young child… It pleases me to know that you enjoy learning more about those subjects. Curiosity seems to be a lost on many of our younger generations."_

_The little girl watched Brennan talk and smiled. "Daddy took me to see Anok at the museum."_

_"What did you think?" Brennan asked, watching the girl glance to her daddy, and back to her._

_"I thought it was real cool." She smiled. "Why aren't you with your family for Christmas?" She asked curiously._

_"Spencer, that's not very nice." Matthew replied. "That is a personal question… it's not polite to ask."_

_"Daddy tried to make Christmas dinner and burned it up. The turkey was black on the outside and still saying gobble gobble on the inside." She laughed as Matthew's face burned slightly with embarrassment._

_"I don't do well with big dinners." Matthew said with a shrug._

_"So daddy said we can have ice cream sundaes for Christmas dinner." Spencer piped in._

_"I said we could… have dinner, and ice cream sundaes for dessert."_

_"Whatever." Spencer replied, shrugging with a grin. "Where's your family?" Spencer asked._

_"You are so very nosy." Matthew said, watching the little girl's eyes remain on the scientist. "You don't have to answer any of her nosy questions, Bren, its okay."_

_"My family is spending Christmas in North Carolina with my brother." She said with a half smile. "I was on a long trip and wasn't going to be home for Christmas… so I didn't tell them I was in town, because I didn't want them to change their plans."_

_"Would they change their plans?" Spencer asked._

_"Probably." She nodded._

_"You should have told them, then you wouldn't be alone."_

_"She's not alone." Matthew said, winking at Brennan playfully. "She has us." He said, watching as she smiled across the table at Brennan, he was quite happy when she returned the smile. "If you don't mind, we are going to hijack your Christmas dinner." He said, opening the menu._

_"I don't know what that means." Brennan laughed, feeling just a little less alone with her new friends, as she thought silently of good friends and Christmases of the past._

* * *

"I appreciate that you were there for her."

"She missed you." Matthew said, eyeing the older agent. "She didn't talk much about you in the personal realm when I first met her, but man… when it came to business, it was all about Agent Booth."

"She's particular." Booth replied. "I give her a lot of freedom at the crime scenes, she knows what she's looking for, and what she needs from the evidence. It's her process."

"No complaints here. I don't think I have ever worked with someone so…"

"Obsessed with finding the truth?" Booth asked.

"I may have put it a bit more delicately, but yeah… she just… it is all about passion for her. I admire it."

"You know that if she knew that I was sitting here talking to you about her, she'd kick both of our asses, right?" Booth replied, listening to the light chuckle from the man on the bed.

"I never meant to get between you and Bren, Booth. It has never been my intention to be anything more than her friend. I knew from the end of that first case… that there was nobody that she wanted with her more than you. I read the signs, listened to her…" Matthew said sincerely. He watched Booth stiffen slightly at the inference and though he still remained warm, it was a bit unnerving. "I understand why you thought things were different between her and me. But trust me, she missed you a lot more than she'll ever admit."

* * *

_Matthew walked boldly to Brennan's office, knowing that she was probably miserable finishing up the paperwork for the case. He had called his nanny to ensure that he would be home before too late, hoping that he could catch Brennan for a short celebration following the case. He had asked her earlier if she had wanted to go out later, and her answer had been curt and short and in the negative. Though most anyone would deem it to be rude, he just went in stride with the scientist, noting very early on that she worked differently than most anyone else. It was still fairly early in the evening, just after five when he approached her closed office door, and he hoped that she was still around._

_He knocked lightly at the door, glancing around the lab at the other technicians, he admired their ethic and the beauty of the building. The shiny lab gave off a certain cleanliness, sterility, and distance from the many things that it had witnessed. The death and putrid nature of the business that often covered its tables and entered their microscopes were all made smaller and less grotesque by the immense beauty of the open room of the lab._

_He was about to give up, when the door opened suddenly, and Brennan stepped out, her bag over her shoulder. "Are you available for a drink?" She asked, watching the man's eyes widen in surprise at her sudden openness and willingness to go out after her earlier demeanor and negative response._

_"Um… sure." He shrugged._

_"Good. Though I'd like to make it very clear right now that this is purely for professional purposes. There will be no changes to our social status. I am simply doing this in order to fulfill a tradition that has always made me feel most comfortable at the close of a case. It's an expression of camaraderie and nothing more."_

_"Okay." He nodded, clearly amused. "Do you mind if I ask why you changed your mind?"_

_"Advice from a very close, trustworthy friend." She stated simply as she walked a step or two ahead of him as they made their way from the building._

_He caught up with her to walk alongside her, the quick pace that she had set was a bit fast, but leisurely at the same time. She hadn't said anything after they exited the lab, and they walked toward the Founding Fathers, a typical after case hangout for she and Booth. She wanted it to appear casual, and when she stepped inside, she saw the table that she and Booth typically sat in together, and the two barstools that they typically sat on, and she grabbed Matthew's arm suddenly, turning them away from them, guiding them to the other side of the bar. She released his arm as they turned, sliding into the booth just as one of the waitresses noticed her sitting down, she walked over to them and smiled. "Hi, Doctor Brennan." She smiled._

_"Hello." Brennan stated congenially, she wasn't ever one for small talk, and for a moment she regretted bringing Matthew here. She noticed that the waitress was glancing to Matthew, and immediately moved to rectify any confusion of the situation. "This is Agent Matthew Cooke. He's been working with me while Agent Booth has been in Afghanistan." She said quickly, she noticed the surprised look on the waitress' face and glanced to Matthew, who gave her a friendly smile. Brennan quickly diffused the situation by ordering her beer, and Matthew did the same, watching the waitress disappear toward the bar. Brennan looked to Matthew and sighed, her eyes were showing sadness, and he was beginning to feel slightly uncomfortable in the silence. "This was Booth's idea."_

_"What?"_

_"To go out tonight… to invite you out for a drink to celebrate." She replied. "He recommended it since it was something that he and I often partake in so that we can converse about the outcome of the case, along with some tasteful anecdotes about how we mowed the grass with the bad guys."_

_"I'm not sure I understand." He chuckled as he felt a sense of relief flow through him when she laughed._

_"I am not very good at social banter or witty idioms. I think that metaphor has a time and place, though Booth prefers to use terms that don't always seem to fit into the rhetoric at the time." She shrugged._

_"So you take many of your social cues from your partner?"_

_"Booth has a talent when talking to people, relating to people on a level that I, in the past was not comfortable with. I admire this ability, and aspire to someday be able to mimic it with more accuracy in the future." She said with a friendly smile just as their drinks were delivered to the table. She looked up at the waitress and back to Matthew. "We'll be starting a tab, if you don't mind." She said, handing over her credit card, the waitress nodded and smiled as she took Brennan's card, Matthew's head tilted in curiosity as she smiled and took a sip of her beer as she sat back and sighed, resigned in having a good time, for Booth's sake._

_The drinks flowed slowly, and turned into dinner as they ended up ordering an appetizer or two to stave off the hunger that was grumbling at both of them as they talked about myriad topics that for Brennan always seemed to have one theme associated with each one of them._

_"Did I tell you that Booth calls you Cookie?" Brennan let out a slight giggle at the thought as Matthew let out a laugh._

_"He does not."_

_"He does! I think that he does it as a way to refer to you in a diminutive way… he can be rather egotistical, and will often find ways to pick on people that he finds inferior to himself."_

_"Maybe he's just jealous." Matthew replied._

_"Jealous? Why would Booth be jealous?"_

_"Because he's stuck in a hole in Afghanistan, while I sit here and have drinks with his partner and self proclaimed best friend." Matthew replied pointedly._

_"I have never called myself Booth's best friend… I think the term is childish… to rank your friends on a scale would be foolish. The people that you know and relate to are… are…there to… you base your friendships on things like trust and loyalty, and…"_

_"Love."_

_"I don't love Booth." She said, her light eyes becoming darker at the accusation._

_"Sure you do…" He said, trying to continue before she interrupted. "You want him to be happy, right?" She refused to answer. "Come on, Bren… You want him to be happy, right?"_

_"Yes."_

_"You want him to be safe?"_

_"Yes."_

_"You said before, when we were talking about nightmares… that he has held you when you were scared… he's rescued you. You trust him?"_

_"More than anyone I have ever trusted."_

_"Then what is all of that, if it's not love?" He shrugged, sipping his beer. He looked at his watch and sighed. "I really, really have to go. Spencer is probably wondering where her bedtime story is." He said, watching Brennan's seemingly shell shocked expression. "Do you need me to call you a cab?"_

_"Huh?" She said, looking up at him. "No… no, it's okay… I'll um… I'll just go back over to the lab for a little while, sober up there on my couch." She nodded._

_"Listen, Bren…" He said as he stood up and slipped his coat over his shoulders. "Go over each and every single one of the stories we told…and count how many times you mentioned Booth… "_

_"But…"_

_"Not as the subject of the story… but as someone you took advice from, or thought of… or listened to in order to get through the situation of the story. Just think about it… Count how many times you said his name… or thought of him. Next time we talk, I want a number." He winked as he handed her a couple of bills. "This should cover me… don't want to be accused of being out on a date with you." He said with a friendly smile, as he held her eyes for a moment until he was sure that she was okay with him walking away._

* * *

"I am sure she came up with a number." Booth replied.

"She did…" He replied, sharing a laugh with the other agent. "I'm sorry that I got you in trouble with her." He mumbled softly, the pain in his leg was beginning to agitate him, but he tried not to show it. He was enjoying his conversation with the other agent, and was feeling quite regretful that they hadn't conversed like this before. He wasn't about to put painkillers into the mix for a few reasons, and the fact that he was getting all of this off his chest was making him feel much better about his relationship with Brennan, the guilt of taking her attentions away from Booth was melting away with the stories.

"With Bones? I'm always in trouble with Bones… I'm sorry I knocked you on your ass." Booth said with a friendly chuckle. "Though at this point… it appears a good knock out was nothing compared to this accident."

"My daughter is going to kill me." He said with a light chuckle. "She thinks I'm in the hospital with a cold. I didn't have the heart to tell her it was a car accident."

"How old is she?" Booth asked, knowing that a man will talk for hours about his child, and the topic would only improve his condition.

"She's six." He said, a slight smile on his face. "Her mother died when she was two… car accident… we were… going out for ice cream, and an SUV ran through a light… it smashed into her side of the car… took her, and my son." He said sadly. "So she… is a little bit of a territorial thing when it comes to my health."

"I understand." Booth nodded.

"Bren said you have a son."

"Parker, yeah… he's nine… It seems Bones talked a lot about me." He laughed, unsure if he should be flattered or irritated.

"She merely gives you credit for things… and any personal morsels, you can tell she's just proud of you. She says you're a fantastic father… and has said on more than one occasion about how much she missed Parker. She's been a great influence for Spencer… a good friend."

"She says she's not good with children, but I haven't met a child who hasn't gotten along with her."

"I think it has a lot to do with her ability to scrape through the bullshit and be honest… kids need to know they can trust adults, and she's… pardon the expression… bare bones…" Matthew laughed, watching the other agent laugh. "She's afraid that she's going to hurt you… that you'll learn something about her that will make you dislike her. She's afraid that she won't be able to give you what you want."

"She told you about the rejection."

"I kind of figured it out on my own." Matthew replied. "She never told me explicitly what happened, but I can tell she holds a lot of guilt."

Booth sighed as he rubbed the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger. "I thought I was willing to wait forever for her." He replied. "I thought I could move on… I can't wait forever…" Booth said sadly. "Hey, I should get going… I have a few things I have to do." He said, giving the other agent a light pat on his hand, who acknowledged Booth's thoughtful appearance.

"Thanks for stopping in." Matthew said, watching the other man nod and give a half wave.

"No problem… get better…" Booth said as he walked out of the room. As he rounded the corner of the door, he nearly ran into someone who was rushing down the hallway, his arms automatically on them as he tried to cushion the blow. Immediately he got a whiff of familiar perfume, and the warm body in his arms was more than familiar as she pulled away from him.

"Bones…"

"Booth?" She gasped, her eyes wide with surprise as their eyes met. "What are you doing here?"

"What am I doing here? What are you doing here?" Booth asked, a bit humored by the stunned look on her face.

"How is he doing?" She said, glancing toward the door.

"He's in a lot of pain… physically…" He said, noting the redness in her eyes. "How about you, are you okay?"

"Yes." She said quickly, awkwardly. She knew that he could see right through her rare lie, but she also knew that he would let it pass. "I was going to go talk to Matthew about… about something."

Booth tried to hide the hurt in his eyes, and thought he had for the most part, but Brennan saw right through the mask, and noted that his hands were still holding her arms tenderly, keeping her body close to his as they spoke softly. She swallowed hard, the thoughts still raging in her head as she tried to turn her eyes from him and walk into the room where the one person she had been able to talk to about the most frightening thing in her life was waiting. Booth just stood there, his hands still on her arms as he started to move backwards to allow her to enter the room. Just as his hands started to move from her arms, she reached out and grabbed his wrists. "I'd rather talk to you though." She said, expecting her voice to come out soft and unconfident, but finding that it was as strong as it had ever been. "I need to talk to you."

"Bones." Booth said, lifting his arm as he felt her hand release, he let his thumb run along her cheek as he watched her eyes sparkle.

"Please?" She whispered, letting her hand slide down his wrist as she gripped his hand in hers. "Will you… take me somewhere quiet so that we can talk? I have… I have some things that I have to talk to you about."

"I think I can do that." He said, pulling her in for a hug, he felt her arms wrap securely around him as she melted into his arms immediately, warm and secure in his embrace.


	14. The First Step is Awkward, Very Awkward

Booth and Brennan held hands through the halls of the hospital, taking the elevator to the lobby, she gripped his hand tightly, feeling his fingers entwining with hers. She was one step ahead of him, leading him through the lobby toward the front doors of the hospital, he said nothing as she pulled him down the sidewalk along the side of the hospital building.

"Bones?"

She turned her head at the sound of her nickname and could read the questions in his eyes. She knew where she was going, she had been here before. "When you were shot at the Checkerbox, and they told me that you were dead, I came here." She said, turning toward a small path that seemed to lead toward a set of trees. "I didn't want to go home, and I didn't want to go to the lab." She stopped as they reached the group of tall pines, and turned. Her hands touched his chest, and for a moment she focused on her fingertips, her hand moving to his shoulder. She let her fingertips move over the material of his shirt.

"Bones." He whispered.

"It's a nice place." She said, looking up into his eyes, he captured the sadness of her expression and felt his heart ache. She reached for his hand and pulled him along, ignoring the supportive look in his eyes. She stepped through the small arbor , where the path changed to stone as they stepped into a small little alcove of trees. On their right there was a bench and across from the bench a small lit fountain. "They call it a serenity garden." She whispered. "The hospital created it for patients and families of patients who need a place to go, to think or rest… a place to forget about stress, illness, and death for a while." She sighed. "I came here that night you saved me from Agent Kenton." She whispered, turning to see his eyes as they stared at the fountain. "Do you remember that night?"

"I remember."

"You fell asleep watching the movie in your hospital room… and I turned your light off and left… that's when I first found this place. I wasn't ready to leave the hospital just yet." She tugged his hand, her eyes falling to the fountain when he turned to look at her, and they moved toward the bench. "It is odd. I know that this place has no actual… healing or calming powers… but somehow, I just found myself mesmerized by the water." She sat on the bench, and he sat too, glancing to the small space between them, as he inched closer to her. She leaned toward him, his arm lifted and he pulled her closer to him, her head resting on his shoulder. "The sound of water elicits a calming effect… and the reflection of the light and that sound seems to lower my blood pressure, and soothe my nerves. It's odd…"

"It's not odd." He whispered, turning his head to kiss the top of hers. "It's perfectly normal."

They became silent for several minutes, her heart beating wildly in her chest when she felt his lips touch her hair, the pressure on her head, his arm around her. He was eliciting a response in her that the calm falling water, couldn't seem to quiet. "I came here when Zack was injured." She whispered.

"When I was in the coma?" He whispered.

"No."

Her answer surprised him, her negative response was odd considering that she had come to this place for peace in every other incident that led her to this hospital. "Why not?"

"I don't know." She whispered, her answer clearly a lie. She paused for a moment and sighed. "I couldn't leave your side."

"Bones."

She shook her head against his shoulder, his lips finding their way to her head again. "I couldn't leave you. I couldn't find peace in anything. It was different when I thought you had died... when that woman had shot you… It felt so painful. It felt painful because you were gone, gone forever. I wanted to get as far away from the hospital as I could, yet I couldn't bring myself to leave you just yet."

"That doesn't sound like you at all."

"I know." She whispered. "The coma was different. You were there, I could see you… touch you, talk to you. I had read research about comas… about how the patient can sometimes hear the outside world." She sucked in a deep breath and turned her head so that she could see his eyes. "I didn't want you to wake up alone." She leaned her head on his shoulder again, feeling his lips on her head for a moment as he held her close. He said nothing, this was her moment.

"I don't think that this is going to work." She whispered. She felt his hand stop rubbing her arm, he didn't say a word. "This… attempt at protecting you while trying to protect myself. I was normal once, you know." She said, lifting her head, she wanted him to look at her, and his eyes were on the fountain. "Booth? I was normal once, I just don't know…"

"You're normal now, Bones." He said, turning his head. "Social awkwardness does not make you a pariah. You are abrupt and truthful… it's a defense mechanism, it's not weird. Besides, I know that sometimes you like to test people. You're not as oblivious as you like to make people think you are. I think you're afraid of being judged, afraid that people will not want to associate with you because you're several steps ahead of them."

"Do I make you feel stupid?" She asked. "I know you're not a stupid man, and sometimes… I think that you want me to think that you're less intelligent than you are."

His eyes were once again on hers, his eyebrow raised in question. "You think I fake stupid?"

"No." She said, a slight smile on her lips. "But I think sometimes you make decisions based on the fact that you think that others wouldn't like who you are. I think that this whole situation between you, and I… and Cooke, could have been straightened out weeks ago if you had just been straight with me… and I had been honest with you."

"Do you want to know the truth Bones?" He watched her eyes look into his for a moment and his breath caught in his throat.

"Always."

"I think we're going to be okay." He said, nodding his head as she smiled shyly, turned her head and rested it on his chest, listening to his heartbeat and the sound of the fountain's water, they held on another for what felt like forever.


	15. Admit

"I punched Cooke out of anger." Booth whispered into Brennan's hair, his confession was soft and full of sorrow, and she knew that he was not expecting a response from her right away, so she waited for him to continue. "I didn't spar with him with the intention of hurting him, I mean… he was the one that invited me, and I knew that I was stronger than him, that I could hurt him if I tried. But the punch was not intended, and it wasn't fair, and I'm sorry if it made you think less of me."

"I don't think less of you."

"He wanted me to punch him." Booth's words didn't seem to surprise her, and he wasn't sure if he should continue, when she looked up into his eyes.

"He told me to tell you the truth." She whispered. "He wanted me to tell you… how I feel. He said that it was the only way that I would find true happiness, if I was honest with you."

"You're always honest with me."

"I tell you the facts." She replied, turning her head toward the fountain. "I don't always tell you what I'm thinking. I don't always tell you everything."

"Like what?" He whispered.

* * *

_"So how long have you been in love with your partner?" Cooke asked, grinning when he noticed that Brennan was choking on her lunch. "Hey, hey… you okay?" _

_"I'm fine." She said, clearing her throat. Her face was now red from both embarrassment and the near choking as she cleared her throat again. "Why do you insist on asking ridiculous questions when I'm trying to eat?"_

_"Why do you insist on changing the subject?"_

_"Why do you keep asking me questions about Booth?"_

_"Why do you keep answering questions with more questions?" Cooke asked with a raised eyebrow. She glared._

_"I don't find you amusing."_

_"I'm not trying to be amusing… I'm just observing."_

_"Well stop observing." She replied. "And besides, there's nothing to observe. You've never met Booth, and you've never seen us interact. You have nothing to observe."_

_"I can tell when I go to your office and you've spoken to him." Cooke replied._

_"That's ridiculous."_

_"I can tell when he doesn't call. You appear distressed, worried… and you're very quiet."_

_"I am not quiet." She argued._

_"No, typically you're not." He chuckled. "But when he hasn't called in a couple of days, I can tell."_

_"He's in a war zone, Agent Cooke. I am just showing concern for a colleague and friend. It isn't indicative of personal feelings."_

_"You know, normally I'd say that… but you do protest just a little too much." _

_"Booth and I are not, and never have been romantically involved." She stated quite clearly, taking a bite of her lunch, she watched the agent with narrowed eyes as he shook his head and looked down at his plate with a cocky smirk. "What?" She said suspiciously._

_"Nothing." He chuckled to himself._

_"No, not nothing. You can't just state that you were thinking 'nothing', you were laughing at something. What were you laughing about?"_

_"How long were you expected to be in the Maluku islands?" He asked, putting a french fry in his mouth, he raised his eyebrows. "You answer me, and I'll let you have one of the French fries you have been eyeing on my plate for the past ten minutes."_

_"Are you trying to bribe me with a treat?"_

_"Are you avoiding the question?" He asked._

_She glared at him and answered his question, if only in her mind it was to prove him wrong. "I was expected to stay there for twelve months, but stayed until December." She said, watching him preparing to interrupt, she spoke a bit louder. "However…however… the work in Maluku was slow, and I preferred to work with my own instruments in my own lab." She seemed quite happy with her answer._

_"You were homesick." He said, eating another French fry._

_"You're rude."_

_"You're avoiding the question." He laughed._

_"That wasn't a question!" She pointed out._

_"Were you homesick?"_

_"Yes." She said, unsure of why she had blurted out her reply, but at the same time feeling a sense of relief at finally admitting it to someone. She reached forward and grabbed a fry off his plate, shoved it in her mouth and sat back in the seat, glaring at the man across from her, as he just let out a friendly laugh._

* * *

"It's okay to admit that you were homesick." Booth replied.

"It wasn't just homesick." She said, continuing to stare at the fountain. "It was… all out panic attacks and anger fits. They were more than happy to get rid of me, Booth. They were more than happy to see me go."

"Bones, I'm sure that's not true." She turned her head and gave him an incredulous look. "Okay… so sometimes you're difficult to work with… but only when you don't get your way."

"I'm precise."

"You're pig headed."

"That phrase doesn't even make sense. What does a pig's head have to do with..."

"I was homesick too." Booth said softly, watching her head turn slowly as their eyes met. "I missed you."

"So you said… in your messages."

"I recall telling you on the phone too." He chuckled lightly as she smiled at him. "And in person."

"Yes." She nodded, watching the happiness in his eyes reflected to her. "Of all of the things that I missed about home, I am most positive that I missed you more than anything else."

He pulled her close and let her push her body into him, the warmth she provided was what he needed to foster the courage that was working up in his gut, the courage to be as open with her as she had been.

"Parker showed me the postcards that you sent him." He said, waiting for her eyes to stray from his, they didn't, though her smile faded slightly, her eyes became more introspective.

"Oh." She said, watching her eyes bore into his.

"He said that you invited him to the lab."

"We spent a day or two together, yes." She nodded her head.

"You never mentioned it to me, I only ever heard about it from him. On the phone, and when I got home."

"The postcards." She said softly, bringing him back to the origin of the next order of business.

"The things that you wrote were very personal." He whispered.

"They were my feelings, Booth."

"I know." He nodded. "Not at all like you."

"I have changed, Booth. You helped to change me." She paused. "Is that okay?"

"Its okay, Bones." He said with a solid nod. "It's perfectly okay… as long as we're changing together." Suddenly, Booth's phone began to ring. He gave Brennan a quick glance and pulled it from his pocket, glancing to the number. "Angela…"

"Oh…" Brennan said, her hand instinctively reaching for the phone as she felt her stomach twist. "I forgot about Angela."

"You forgot about her?" Booth asked as he lifted the phone to his ear. "Hello?" Booth's eyes widened as Brennan listened to her friend's rant on the line. "Hey… hey, hey… relax… she's right here." Booth said as he handed Brennan the phone. "Some things… never change." He whispered as she lifted the phone to her ear and cringed.

"Hey, Ange." She said, glancing to Booth as her friend continued her rant in her friend's ear, as she felt his arm around her, pulling her closer as she listened to her friend's rant.


	16. Safety Glass

Booth could hear Angela's panicked voice on the line and Brennan periodically tried to interrupt her. She looked up at Booth with pleading eyes and he moved his hand for the phone.

"Ange… Ange, just slow down for a second, I can…" She said as Booth pulled the phone from her hand. He lifted it to his ear and could see the alarm in Brennan's face.

"Angela?" Booth said softly. "We're kind of in the middle of something. Are you bleeding?"

"No." Angela said quickly, still not finished with yelling at Brennan for hanging up on her when she had been so obviously upset earlier.

"Any sort of accident, or something we can help you get out of?"

"No… Booth, what's going on over there, is Brennan in trouble? Is she okay?"

"Don't worry about Bones, Angela… she's in good hands." He said as he smiled into the line. "See you in a couple of days." He turned the phone off and slipped it into his pocket.

"Did you hang up on her?"

"Yes."

"She hates when people hang up on her." Brennan whispered with a slight smile on her lips.

"I think she'll get over it, what do you think?" He asked, noticing that her eyes had focused again on the fountain.

"I think that I have waited a very long time to tell you so many things, that I'm afraid that I'm going to forget something." She whispered, their eyes meeting as he caught her gaze with his, he could see the courage bubbling from deep within her heart.

He paused for a moment at her confession, surprised by her complete openness to him as she reached her finger up and touched his lips, indicating that she needed to speak. "I think that I want to be with you until I have told you everything that there is for me to tell you." She allowed her finger to slide down and touch his chin and fall from his face completely.

"You want to tell me things from the past?"

"And things that I want for the future."

"You want to tell me everything?"

"Only you, everything." She swallowed hard.

"Bones…"

"I am sorry." She managed to whisper, the words sounding sincere and broken. "I should have listened to the messages earlier. I feel like I have caused you so much grief, so much unneeded pain."

"You weren't ready, Bones."

"When were you going to tell me, Booth? When were you going to tell me to listen to them?"

"I wasn't going to tell you." He said honestly. "It was always up to you to listen to them. What did you think?"

"They… made me cry." She sucked in a breath, giving him a tear filled smile, he immediately felt guilty.

"Bones, I…"

"No… no, it's okay." She nodded and smiled tenderly. "It was a good thing, a good thing." She said, nodding her head. "I just… I wish I had known sooner. You had been the one to push my relationship with Cooke, and I thought that the messages were just… were you telling me about how you were moving on."

"But you knew that I wasn't moving on when I came home, Bones. I didn't have anyone when I came home."

"You could have met someone there, maybe that was what the messages were about, I don't know. It's irrational and stupid, and all excuses, Booth. That's all it is, excuses." She sighed, standing up quickly, pulling from his embrace, she began to pace nervously.

Booth knew he was treading on very shaky ground here with the obvious anxiety that Brennan was showing. He had cracked the shell, he just needed to ensure that it all stayed together, that it all remained in one piece. Like a sheet of safety glass he had punctured the surface of her fears like a bullet, and as he watched her before him pacing nervously, it was like a web of cracks that were forming on the surface with just a slight bit of tension holding it all together. He knew that with one push it could all fall to the ground right there, and it was up to him to ensure that when it did inevitably happen, he was there to pick up each and every piece.

What he didn't expect was to jump up suddenly from the bench and grab her arm, pulling her a bit roughly toward him, her eyes widened as he pressed his mouth to hers, her hands moving to his arms as he pulled her into him tightly. It took just a moment of realization, and she was returning the kiss with matching passion, his hands holding her firmly in place, as her fingers gripped his arms tightly, a soft moan sliding between his lips just as forcefully as her tongue. He pulled from the kiss, her hands holding his arms in tight fists as she tried to pull her mouth closer, a whimper of frustration escaped her lips as she refused to open her eyes for a moment.

"Bones." He whispered.

She still didn't open her eyes. "I missed you too." She said softly. "I thought about you every day you were gone, worried… scared that you were going to do something dangerous, something wrong… something…"

"Boothy?" He asked, watching her eyes pop open suddenly.

"Yes." She whispered, a smile lighting up her face, her eyes sparkling as the sunlight sprinkled through the trees. "I was afraid you were going to do something Boothy."

"You know that word doesn't exist, right?" He asked, his tone teasing and light.

"I have a very extensive vocabulary." She teased right back, her eyes flicking to his lips and back to his eyes again, she watched his lips twitch into a half smile. Her eyes were glistening with unshed tears, but she couldn't help but smile at the lightness of his eyes.

"I want to take you to dinner tonight." He whispered.

"Booth, I…"

"I know that you have other plans. Can I take both of you to dinner tonight?" He asked, watching her eyes flick to his lips and then back to his eyes.

"I need to talk to Matthew." She whispered.

"I understand." He nodded.

"Do you hate him?" She whispered.

"Cookie?"

"Booth."

He chuckled at the eye roll, and tipped his head to let out another soft laugh. "Sorry… I don't hate Cooke, no. I respect him." He said sincerely.

"I am sorry that you were under the impression that he and I were anything but close friends."

"It was a misunderstanding, Bones… that seems to happen a lot between you and me."

"I will be amending my schedule, however… if that would be alright. I would like it if… if you and I could spend some time together." She paused, and he could see the shyness in her expression. "I'd like it if we could spend some time alone together. To talk, catch up." He watched her lower lip tremble. "To kiss." She said, her smile sly and wicked, and sweet all at the same time as he lifted his fingertips to her chin.

"Those are all things that I would very much like to do with you." He said, dropping a whispered kiss on her lips.

"Booth?" She managed to allow his name to escape as she opened her eyes with their lips just a breath apart.

"Mm…?"

"I love you." Her eyes closed just then, and he could see by the expression on her face, so close to his that she was surer of those three words than anything she had ever said in her life.

He thought he might have something to say, to return the words with his own, but for once he knew that words would not be enough to satisfy the strength and truth of what she had just spoken. So without pause or regret, guilt or sadness, he tenderly closed the miniscule gap between them, and allowed the safety glass to break away into a million pieces neatly at their feet.


	17. Shrink Wrapped

_Brennan sat at her desk, signing the last bit of paperwork on the case. It took a little over a week, but they were able to identify the remains and the murderer fairly quickly. Brennan stared at the paper, knowing that the victim was a foster child, it made it even more difficult for her, the way the child had just been tossed into the water with no want or care broke her heart. She was staring at her signature, her name at the bottom of the page and became lost in her thoughts for several moments. It wasn't late, just around five in the afternoon when her phone rang._

_She lifted the receiver and sighed. "Brennan."_

_"Why so down, Bones?"_

_His voice instantly brought a slight smile to her face. "Booth."_

_"Unless someone else is calling you Bones nowadays… that new partner?"_

_"He's not my partner, Booth. You are my partner." She corrected. "Did you need something?"_

_There was a pause in his voice, as if there indeed was something he 'needed' but couldn't bring himself to say to her. "Just checking in. You sound down."_

_"The case is solved, the one with the child that I mentioned."_

_"Well, that's good, right? You're sad that you caught a murderer? That doesn't sound like you, Bones."_

_"I am not sad." She replied, clearly lying over the phone, Booth paused and waited for her explanation. "I'm just… I don't know what to do now. I'm waiting for you to get home, so we can work on real cases together and celebrate like you and I typically celebrate."_

_"By getting drunk and bickering?"_

_"Booth…" _

_"Bones, are you whining?"_

_She couldn't help but smile at his playful tone, as she sighed. "Did you call for any specific reason?"_

_"We're going out on an assignment tomorrow. I just wanted to let you know that I might not call for a couple of weeks." He listened to the pause and waited for a response. "I'll be careful."_

_"I don't doubt that you will be."_

_"Just thought I'd let you know."_

_"Well, you don't have to be obvious in your conversation. Perhaps you should tell me something that I don't know." She stated calmly._

_He paused, and he knew he shouldn't have, because before he had the nerve to say what he really wanted to say, but the moment passed, and he found himself giving advice instead of a question. "I think you should take Cookie out for a drink, Bones."_

_"I have told you before, his name is Cooke, Booth. I don't think it's appropriate that I go out for a drink with him, I don't want to give him the wrong impression."_

_"And what impression would that be?"_

_She paused this time, and it was her turn for a change in subject. "I hope that you return safely from your mission."_

_Booth let out a nervous chuckle, knowing that she was distancing herself from the topic, he knew that it was hard enough being apart, and that she didn't need additional ribbing about their relationship. "I hope so too." He replied. "I should probably go."_

_"Okay." She whispered._

_"Was there anything else you wanted to talk about?"_

_"No." She said quickly. "No, I'm doing better… thank you for letting me know where you will be for the next couple of weeks."_

_"Because you'll miss me."_

_"I just want to know that my partner will be returning in one complete package, and not in several frozen, or shrink wrapped portions."_

_"Thanks for the visual, Bones."_

_"If you use that as inspiration to remain alive, then my job is done." _

_"I have a completely different inspiration in mind, thanks though." Booth laughed. "I'll talk to you when I get back to base."_

_"I look forward to your phone call." She replied._

_"I'm serious, Bones… go out and celebrate tonight… have fun… but not too much fun."_

_"I don't know what that…" She stopped when she realized that the phone had disconnected, and she smiled at the words of her partner, as she looked up just as she heard a light knocking at her office door._

* * *

She opened the door into the hospital room slowly, noting the man in the bed had his eyes closed, and she paused for a moment having second thoughts about visiting, when she watched his eyelids open slowly. "You going to stand in the doorway all day, or are you coming in?" He asked, watching the smile that lit up her face, he smiled in return. "I was wondering if you were going to visit me."

"I promised that I'd visit." She said quietly, still standing by the door, she felt apprehensive, and she wasn't sure why, and a deep sense of anxiety rose into her belly. It wasn't an unpleasant feeling, just a bit of an unsure twinge. "I keep my promises." She said, taking a step forward she walked toward the side of the bed and looked down at her friend.

"I know that." He whispered. "You're not the first visitor I've had today, you know." He said, watching the light play off her eyes, she tried to look surprised, but in the end couldn't. "You already knew that."

"An odd thing happened this morning."

"Really?" He whispered.

"Yes." She cleared her throat and sat in the chair beside the bed, she watched Matthew's head turn in her direction.

"Are you going to tell me, or are you going to leave me in suspenders?" He asked playfully.

"I don't know what that… suspense?" She said, letting out a slight laugh as she watched him smile.

"Yeah." He chuckled. "What happened this morning?"

"What did Booth tell you?"

"He said you wanted to sever your partnership." He whispered. "That's not what you told me the other day that you were going to do."

"I was angry."

"Bren… we talked about all of this before."

"I know." She shrugged, losing eye contact with him for a moment. "But that was… that was before he said the things that he said to me."

"What did he say?"

"I prefer not to repeat them." She said with a resounding nod. "I cannot say that I didn't deserve them. It was a misunderstanding." She cleared her throat and narrowed her eyes. "Though he claims that you goaded him into punching you, I'd like to know how that all transpired."

Cooke let out a pain filled laugh, trying to remain calm, he watched her face remain un-amused. "The man would kill for you, Bren. Why do you think he wouldn't hit a man just because he felt that your honor needed to be defended?"

"Did it?"

"Did it what?"

"Did my honor need to be defended?"

"Bren, I would never say anything inappropriate about you."

"Then tell me what occurred." She crossed her arms and glared.

He let out a nervous laugh and watched her eyebrow rise very slowly. "Bren. I didn't insult you, I insulted him…that was why he punched me."

"And why didn't you tell me what happened when you came by that night to drop off the files?"

* * *

_Brennan sat at her desk, her eyes moving over the e-mails she was checking on her screen when she saw movement in her doorway._

_"It's about time you got here, Matt… I was getting hungry." She said without looking up._

_"Yeah… kind of got hung up at the office." He said, his voice sounded slightly shaky and she noticed it, but still hadn't looked up at him. He dropped a file on her desk and waited._

_"Is that the file from Booth?"_

_"Yeah." He said softly, and she finally looked up. "Bren, it's…"_

_"Oh my… what happened?" She exclaimed, nearly jumping from her chair, she moved around the desk quickly. "Were you mugged? Did they catch him? Did they steal your wallet or something?" She asked as she grabbed his chin and moved his face not too gently to the side in order to get a better look._

_"Hey, hey… watch it there…" He said, wincing. "It's still tender."_

_"Are you going to answer any of my questions?" She asked, turning his head so that he was looking in her eyes._

_"I don't want you to get upset."_

_"I won't get upset."_

_"You're lying to me." He said, narrowing his eyes._

_"I won't get upset at you. I cannot guarantee however, that I won't be upset at the person who injured you."_

_"Well, Booth and I were finishing up…"_

_"Booth punched you?" She asked, her breath catching in her throat, she could feel her heart pounding in her chest. "He did not." She glared, Cooke was not surprised that her initial response was denial._

_"Listen, Bren… Booth and I were finishing up paperwork, and I was going to go down to the gym before coming over here, and he and I decided to spar."_

_"Spar?"_

_"Yeah… like…"_

_"I know what sparring is." She snapped. "Though I'm fairly sure that proper etiquette is to keep your hands and fists away from your opponents face."_

_"Especially when your face is as pretty as mine?" He grinned, frowning when he noticed she wasn't smiling._

_"I'm going to have to cancel on dinner." She said, grabbing several things from her desk, she left the folder and prepared to leave._

_"Aw, Bren… it's fine, it's just a black eye… I'll live."_

_"You'll live, yes… the jury is still out on whether or not Booth will live after I get done with him." She said as she pulled Cooke out of her office and closed the door, allowing it to lock behind her as she stalked across the lab angrily._

_Cooke stood back, watching as she disappeared out of the doors of the lab and into the hallway out of sight. A ghost of a smile appeared on his face as he let out a slight chuckle, wincing a bit at the pain of the punch he had taken only an hour earlier._

* * *

"So you have been playing with me this whole time?" She asked, completely shocked by the sudden revelation.

"Playing you, Bren… I was… that sounds really bad." He paused. "No, Bren… You told me that you love him… and I could see that he loves you. I just think you both needed a little bit of a push."

"I don't like being manipulated." She glared, though he could see that it was mostly a front, a stronghold. He knew that she was quietly happy that he had intervened, but it wasn't up to him to ask for that kind of acceptance. He watched her eyes narrow. "Though… the evidence was there…" She muttered, and a slight smile rose on his lips. "I still don't understand why you couldn't have just…"

"Locked you in a room and played Barry White music until you got it on?" He stopped and watched her glare. "Sorry… this medicine is making me say some really crazy things. "Did you talk to him?"

"Yes."

"Good." He said with a tender smile.

"He asked me out to dinner tonight."

"I can arrange someone to take Spencer tonight."

"No." She said with a soft smile. "Neither you or Booth are going to take me away from my Spencer time this evening."

"Bren…" He let out a wincing chuckle.

"Booth insists." She said softly as she watched his grateful smile. "He would like to meet her as well. He's a very good father, he enjoys the company of children as well as anyone I know."

"You've mentioned." He said with a bit of a laugh.

"I should get back to the office… I have a few things to do before dinner, and you need to rest. I will be bringing Spencer by in the morning to visit you. I am sure she will be more than happy to lecture you on driver safety."

"That she will, Bren…"

"Matt?" Brennan said after a second or two of silence, she watched his eyes meet hers after a moment. "Thank you." She said sincerely, as she stood up and touched his hand. "Thank you for everything." She said, as he smiled softly back at her in acceptance of her thanks, as she leaned down and kissed his forehead softly before turning and leaving him alone in his room once again.


	18. Simple Requests

Brennan heard the knock at the door and glanced to the little girl sitting at the kitchen table. She looked up and then to Brennan, who smiled reassuringly at her. "That must be my friend Booth." She said as Spencer smiled and returned to coloring. She stepped around the table and opened the door, smiling as Booth tipped his head and smiled. "Hey."

"Hey." He replied, waiting for her to open the door, he stepped inside as soon as she stepped aside for him, he looked a bit nervous and she could see that he was holding something behind his back. "I got you this." He said, pulling a daisy from behind his back, she smiled and took it gratefully, smiling as she brought it to her nose.

"Thank you." She said softly. She turned her head to the little girl at the table, who was looking up at them. "Spencer, this is my friend Booth."

"Hi." She said, watching them curiously, Booth took a couple of steps toward her, running his hand down Brennan's arm as he clasped her hand, just as the door closed. He held out another daisy and offered it to the little girl.

"And this is for you." He said, watching her eyes flicker to Brennan, who nodded slightly as the little girl slowly reached out and pulled the delicate flower from his fingertips.

"Thank you." She whispered.

"My name is Seeley Booth."

"I'm Spencer." She said softly, her eyes moving to Brennan. "Tempe says you're her best friend."

"Oh, she just likes to talk me up because I'm the one buying dinner." He winked as her wary look turned to a smile, and he was even graced with a giggle. "What would you like for dinner?"

"I dunno." She shrugged, glancing to Brennan.

"How about you?" He asked Brennan, who had been watching Spencer, but her eyes flicked to his, and demanded her attention.

"Me? What do I want to eat? I don't know… what do you have in mind?"

"Pizza?" He asked, glancing to Spencer, who looked happy with the selection.

"Pizza it is." Brennan said with a nod. "Did you want to eat in, or go out?"

"We can order in… might just be easier that way, what do you think?"

"Sure." Brennan said as she opened a drawer by the sink, she turned to ask Booth a question, but found herself staring directly into his chest when she turned, her eyes looked up quickly and caught the glint of playfulness in his eyes. "Which… place?" She mumbled.

"Anyplace is fine." He replied, watching her eyes flicker to his lips just as he smiled at her. He leaned down slightly. "I really want to kiss you right now." He said honestly, hearing the subtle gasp that she emitted.

"Mister Booth?" Spencer's voice broke their silence and made Booth turn sharply from the object of his affections as his eyebrows raised and he send a genuine smile across the room toward the little girl. "I don't like mushrooms on my pizza."

"Did you hear that, Bones?" Booth asked Brennan, who nodded, still a bit breathless from his closeness of just a moment before.

"Did you just call Tempe, Bones?" Spencer asked. She sounded quite humored and put her crayon to the table, watching him with extremely curious eyes.

"Yes." Booth said, stepping away from Brennan, while simultaneously allowing her enough breathing room to complete the task she had to get the menu and order the pizza. He walked toward the little girl and leaned on the table. "That's what I call her…"

"Because she works in the museum?"

"That's right."

"And there are lots of bones there."

"There are."

"Like… dinosaur bones and mummy bones, and stuff like that, right?"

"Exactly."

"I call her Tempe… Daddy calls her Bren."

"See, those are all nicknames."

"I like Bones best."

"I do too… Bones is best." He said, turning to watch her talking on the phone, he caught her eye and she smiled a bit, though her cheeks gave away a bit of a pink hue, that sent a grin onto his lips that she turned her gaze from to prevent him from watching her ears follow suit.

"Are you Tempe's boyfriend?"

"I was thinking of asking her if she'd be my girlfriend. Do you think she'd say yes?" He asked.

"Mm…" She said, tipping her head to the side, she lifted her crayon and lightly tapped her chin as she squinted her eyes. "I think you could be her boyfriend."

"You think?"

"Well… you seem nice… and Tempe is nice."

"She is nice." He nodded, watching Brennan across the room as she finished talking to the pizza delivery person.

"And she's pretty, and you're handsome."

"Well thank you."

"I wasn't complimenting you, I was just telling you the truth." She stated sharply, not meaning to sound rude, she watched his eyebrows lift again. "And you're a boy."

"I am." He nodded.

"So yeah… you could be her boyfriend."

"Did you hear that, Bones?" Booth said as he looked up, not seeing Brennan across the room, he turned sharply to find her right behind him, nose to nose.

"Did I hear what?" She whispered, her hands on his shirt as she watched his eyes widen slightly, his eyes flickered to the little girl, who went back to coloring.

"Spencer says I can be your boyfriend." He mumbled quietly, watching the sly smile tickle the corners of her mouth.

"Well that was very nice of her." She whispered, leaning up just slightly to brush her lips with his. She watched his eyes close just as their mouths touched and she took in a sharp breath, smiling against him before loosening her hand on his shirt and taking a step back, watching his eyes open sleepily.

"Yes." He swallowed. "Very, very nice of her."

"The pizza will be here in forty five minutes…" She said as her eyes never left his. "Go get washed up."

"Okay." Booth whispered.

"I was talking to Spencer." She replied, smiling at his still shell shocked expression as the little girl slid from her barstool and headed toward the bathroom without a complaint, as Brennan stepped forward and let Booth pull her into a comfortable and welcoming hug.


	19. Intentions Voiced

The pizza was delicious and filling, and after a jigsaw puzzle, two rousing games of Candyland and a bedtime bath, one of the three people that had spent time at Brennan's apartment was exhausted. Brennan and Spencer sat on the couch, the little girl's head bobbing slightly as she began to become the next victim of sleep, and Brennan watched her sleeping partner snore peacefully against her.

"Did you have fun tonight?" Brennan asked the little girl, catching her eyes as she looked up at her thoughtfully.

"Yeah." She nodded. "Mister Booth is nice."

"I think he's pretty nice." She said with a smile.

"He'll be a good boyfriend." Spencer nodded, leaning forward to watch the sleeping man as he snored for a minute. "But it looks like he drools when he's sleeping."

Booth's eyes flashed open, and his brow furrowed. "I don't drool." He said, listening to the two girls giggle at his confusion. "Isn't it time for someone go to bed?" He asked grumpily, Brennan leaned up and kissed his cheek, and he groaned a bit as he pulled her nearer.

"I think it is…" She said, watching Spencer sigh.

"I'm not even tired." She said, yawning as she stood up, stumbling a bit.

"Hey there, be careful…" Brennan said as she got up slowly, feeling Booths hand at her back, she looked back at him and smiled. "I'll be right back." She said, following after the little girl toward the spare bedroom.

Booth sat up and stretched, hearing Brennan's voice coming from the spare room, he yawned and looked at the time, seeing that it was still fairly early, he could feel a bit of anxiety in his gut. He turned and started to clear the coffee table, his eyes focusing on the items he was bringing into the kitchen, he didn't notice she had walked back out of the bedroom. He busied himself with dishes, whistling very softly, and when he turned around, she was directly in front of him, perhaps an inch from his nose. His whistle snorted in, and a grin spread on his face when he saw the 'kiss me' look on her face. He wanted the upper hand, however, so he reached for her palm.

"You're very good with Spencer."

"Thank you." She whispered.

"Is she in bed?"

"Yes."

"Was there anything that you wanted to…"

"Will you kiss me?" She whispered, her lips now saying what her eyes had been begging for, and his smile widened.

"I like that you asked permission… it's good not to have expectations… I don't want to…" His teasing was silenced with a quick, but stealthily soft movement that completed the electric charge that was pulsing between them, her hips pushing against him firmly as he supported himself against the counter. She pulled from the kiss, her eyes settling on his lips, then back to his eyes again. "That was… that was nice." He whispered, breathily.

"I don't want to hurt you." She said honestly. "I don't want… I am afraid that I'm going to be hurt."

"Bones…" Booth shook his head, his brow furrowed.

"I understand that it's irrational." She said, focusing on one of the buttons on his shirt. "I know that… you've never given me a reason to think that this couldn't be for… thirty, forty…" She shrugged. "Maybe fifty years… Our partnership has been through many things, both private and work related." She sighed. "I just worry that… we'll get to a point where you don't want to be with me. You'll grow bored of me, or frustrated with me beyond repair, that you'll learn something about me that severs our love."

"Are you actually a man?" Booth asked, raising his eyebrows seriously at her, she scrunched her brow.

"What? No."

"Do you have any kind of weird fetishes that I should know about?"

"Nothing outside the ordinary." She said, obviously humored now by his questions, she caught on quickly that he was trying to make a point. His eyebrows shot up and she smiled demurely.

"I think we'll be okay, Bones." He replied. "As long as we talk… to one another."

"About everything." She nodded.

"Yes."

"Then perhaps I should inform you…" She said, tipping her head as she looked to him. "I would really like to kiss you right now."

"I should probably let you know then… I'd like to kiss you as well." He said, leaning his forehead against hers. "Will you be my girlfriend, Temperance? Will you make me the happiest that I have ever been."

"Well, you're nice…" She shrugged shyly. "And you're attractive."

"Spencer said I'm handsome."

"She has a penchant for hyperbole." Brennan grinned.

"Shut up, Bones." He said, pulling her nearer, he tipped his head. "No more talking, just more kissing." She answered with a strong grip on his shirt, as she devoured his mouth and allowed him to do the same to her, as they embarked on one of their greatest adventures together.

* * *

**I apologize if the ending wasn't mind blowing or interesting or... I dunno. I think I have answered all of the open questions. If you want an epilogue of some kind, send me a PM with some suggestions, and I'll see if I can work on something. Thank you for reading! :) Gcatspjs**


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